Advocacy & Safety - shopping center anti-bike

Question for every one here. How would you deal with a store that seams a bit anti-bike. I went down to the grocery store on Saterday. It is a new store, so I though I would stop by the costomer service desk to make the suggestion of putting a bike rack in. The manager there said that they NEED that space for soda macheans (they already have 3 out there, come on how many pop macheans does a store need?), for those of you in the Pittsburgh area, it is the new Shop and Save in East Liberty. How would you deal with such an aditude, how would you advicate for bike racks?

Is there another grocer nearby who does have bike racks? I would go there.

No, and the other grocer is a bit more expencive too, and not as clean. (ask any one in the 'burgh about the dirty bird)

Hello Mike,

Just bring the bike in the store with you and lock it up inside somewhere. I've done this several times and nobody has said anything.

If they complain, politely note that they don't provide any bike parking and you don't have a choice but to bring the bike in.

RFM

I would ask fellow cyclists to add their concerns. For a business, money talks. If the management realises a number of people are likely to go elsewhere because of the lack of bicycle parking, things will change.

Write to the President of Shop and Save !

Lee Armbuster, President, Pittsburgh Stores (LOVE THAT NAME !!)
Shop 'N Save St. Louis, Inc.
10461 Manchester Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63122
Phone: 314-984-0900
Fax: 314-984-1350

Send it twice....

Thanks kf5nd I will have to do that, 73. But the question still remains what else can I do, I don't think one letter will make much of a differiance, but it can not hurt at the same time.

yeah, write a letter like mentioned above. indicate in the letter that the manager told you soda machines were more important than meeting the needs of its customers. maybe research how much it would cost the store to install them (it can't be much) and just how much space it would take up (again, it can't be much).

If going to another store is out of the question, you might consider locking to a handrail on a ramp or to a shopping-cart return device in the parking lot. I had to do this with a store I visit somewhat regularly and was asked to stop. I told them the reason and there was a proper bike rack the next day.

In a typical parking lot, I can generally find a suitable lamp post or sign post. At my local Home Depot, I use the handicapped parking signposts.

I lock up to the inverted U rails (the ones designed to keep shopping carts from rolling into the parking lot). It seems that racks are typically located too far from the entrance in a secluded area. I'm afraid of vandalism.

Railings and signposts in the parking lot are usually better than most bike racks I see in shopping malls.

Is it actually a shopping center or just a stand-alone store?
If it is a real shopping center, find out who the management company is and contact them.
Even if it is a stand-alone store, they may be just a tenant and not the property owner. Find out who really has decision making authority and contact them.

Look around the property. Instead of asking IF they will provide racks, suggest a location and style that works for you and might work for them. Could be a metal loop embedded in concrete on a planted island, but it's better than nothing.

Well since there are a few other stores there I am going to assume it is a center, but also since they are the ones putting in the soda macheans and altering the parking lot a lot (putting in cart return spots, and yes I know that was a really bad sentence) and RF to prevent people from taking the carts out of the parking lot that they have a huge say in what gets done to the lot.

Wow! I didn't know they have Shop n' Save stores in that area! I am in St. Louis and there are plenty of them. In one of them they have a good place that I can lock to indoors. However the others I just go to the cart return area like the other posts suggested. I believe it may take a type of petition campaign before they would put one in. I did that at my work and we will be getting a new bike rack installed. Just one person to them doesn't mean much.. numbers talk! Hope it all works out! If there is anything I can do here in St. Louis to help out let me know!

Keep Cycling,

I've never been to a store in an urban/suburban location that didn't have SOMETHING to lock up to within a couple of hundred feet of the store. I'd look around and find the shopping cart return or a lightpost or something. I go to a supermarket that doesn't have a rack- no biggie.

In a typical parking lot, I can generally find a suitable lamp post or sign post. At my local Home Depot, I use the handicapped parking signposts.

Why should we need to lock our bikes to a lamp post or sign post? If a business does not provide bicycle parking, don't go there! And get the word out.

You need to lock your bike to a post or something whenever an establishment doesn't have a bike rack convienently located, which is pretty darn often. Don't get your chamois in a bunch, just look for the solid object set in concrete.

yeah, write a letter like mentioned above. indicate in the letter that the manager told you soda machines were more important than meeting the needs of its customers. maybe research how much it would cost the store to install them (it can't be much) and just how much space it would take up (again, it can't be much).

Unfortunately that might backfire on him.
The manager might just as well say that the thirst and sugar needs of his many many ****** customers outweigh this one lone cyclist.
Might work well to play the "fair and equal treatment" and "environmentally sound" and "alternative transportation" angle to the prez.

Just bring the bike in the store with you and lock it up inside somewhere. I've done this several times and nobody has said anything.


Do you lock your bike to the lobster tank or something? :eek:

Do you lock your bike to the lobster tank or something? :eek:

No.. you lock the bike to the lobster... then when you're done, you quietly walk off with it too...

Isn't amazing that soda machines take precedent over bike racks? Especially since there has been a couple of studies out linking soda consumption to obesity.
I shop at a store that has the sorriest excuse of a bike rack. I think it might have gotten hit and flatten by a delivery truck. But they do have a cute little fake
wrought iron bench near the entrance. guess where all the cyclists lock up to....

I've locked my bike to sign posts near markets, "cart corrals" in the parking lot, etc you might find something to use that's better than a rack could be anyway.

In a typical parking lot, I can generally find a suitable lamp post or sign post. At my local Home Depot, I use the handicapped parking signposts.

The handicap signposts at my local Lowe's (Lowe's is closer than Home Depot) are embedded in 4' high columns of concrete about 8" in diameter.. My U-lock will not fit around that. Annoys me to no end. I usually end up locking to a cart-return, but those are much further from the entrance.

Yes, I do realize the irony inherent in the fact that I'll ride 3 miles to get there, and then complain about having to walk an extra 200 feet to lock up my bike ;).

-Trevor

Go in the store, talk to manager. Whip out a $100 bill and say "I'd like to spend this in your store today . . . however . . .''

Me personally I wouldnt bother.I knew when I went car free exactly what the situation was, 99% of the places I lock up do not have bike racks nor do I expect them to.It just isnt that big a deal to me, and quite frankly, dont understand why it is to so many others.It isnt feasible nor practical to expect every place even grocery stores to have bike racks, then when they do have them, people whine about the bike racks themselves, there was a thread here about that too not long ago.If more folks traveled by bike I can see it being an issue, but one of the serious problems this country already faces is too many folks want everything catered to their needs.Im not saying its not nice to have bike racks, it is nice to have them around, but I just dont see the need.

I live in city that has 1.1 million people in the metro area, downtown there might be on a nice sunny day about 10 commuters, sorry, that just isnt that big of a deal.Some of the grocery stores I frequent have them, some dont, it doesnt slow me down or inconvenience me in the least.The places that do have racks, they are barely used at all.Sure, bike racks dont cost much, and they are easily installed, but if nobody is gonna use them then why go thru the hassle?Lets look at it this way, is anyone willing to put up a couple hundred bucks and buy them for some of these privately owned busnesses?Of course not..........as a business owner how would you feel about it, is it worth it to get bike racks for 1 or 2 customers a week that will likely shop there anyway?Heck in winter you probably wont see any bikes using the racks, where I live turns into almost zero bike usage at all city wide for 1/2 the year.

I dont mean to be harsh in this post at all, just trying to articulate how I feel. I understand the point of this post, I really do, but im trying to be realistic about what the big picture looks like too.

I'd just lock it up to the can dispenser of the "new" pop machine.

....however I've been known to be a quite a d--- sometimes, especially when dealing with irrational people.

Hmm, you might go to a competitor's location and see if you can take a picture of their bike rack when it's near full. Mr. Google suggests the Whole Foods Market in Pittsburgh at 5880 Centre Avenue (rack for 12 bikes).

Who needs a 'bike rack'? Surely there's a suitable place to lock a bike up near the store. 99% of the places I go have no 'bike rack'.

When I saw the thread title I thought that maybe a store manager said that no bikes were allowed in the parking lot or some real anti-bike attitude.

Put a basket and bags on your bike and use IT as your shopping cart. Push your bike up and down the aisles.

d.tipton

Isn't amazing that soda machines take precedent over bike racks?

What's even more amazing is the ability of people to whine over the simplest of matters. Be a real cyclist: Overcome, Adapt, Improvise.

Well since there are a few other stores there I am going to assume it is a center, but also since they are the ones putting in the soda macheans and altering the parking lot a lot (putting in cart return spots, and yes I know that was a really bad sentence) and RF to prevent people from taking the carts out of the parking lot that they have a huge say in what gets done to the lot.
It might also be a issue of lease conditions. Vending machines might be allowed in their lease, and the cart barriers were probably part of the tenant fit-out. Bike racks were probably not covered in the lease and the store might not be allowed to install any without being in violation of their lease.

Find out who the center management company is. They are the only ones who can make a decision.

I plan on writing a similar letter to the mayor of my village (Libertyville). Took a ride to downtown a few days ago, and couldn't find more than ONE bike rack in the whole town. Downtown has recently been redone, with everything looking very "Dickens", but the only bike rack is at the library. The village is constantly promoting its 'downtown', yet if you ride, I guess you gotta lock your bike to a parking meter.

I guess you gotta lock your bike to a parking meter.

What's wrong with that?

Bike racks are rare in these parts but when I ride to the store I've taken to chaining my bike to a large piece of USPS property.

What's even more amazing is the ability of people to whine over the simplest of matters.
Agree 100%


Be a real cyclist:
Disagree 100%. ALL cyclists are real cyclists. Even whiners and know-it-alls.

Overcome, Adapt, Improvise.
Agree 100% that this recommendation is more effective and practical than whining about relatively trivial, easy to overcome "problems."

Thanks kf5nd I will have to do that, 73. But the question still remains what else can I do, I don't think one letter will make much of a differiance, but it can not hurt at the same time.

Check you local zoning regulations. In the City and County of Denver, we have regulations of how many, where and what kind of bicycling facilities must be provided. You may have similar regulations. I'd check to see if you have a city bicycle planner and contact them.

The manager there said that they NEED that space for soda macheans (they already have 3 out there, come on how many pop macheans does a store need?), for those of you in the Pittsburgh area, it is the new Shop and Save in East Liberty. How would you deal with such an aditude, how would you advicate for bike racks?

The manager is doing you a favor. Bike racks are bad news because millions of bikes are stolen each year from racks. Dozens of kids will skope your bike if it's near the front door and all you need is one to get the wrong idea. You should instead of using bike racks, hide the bike so few people will even know it's there.

I work at a grocery store and am a commuter, along with several coworkers. You can take your bike in with you since they don't provide adequate, safe parking (have you seen the way people drive around cart carousels and how close they get to signs?!?!?!) Down here our grocery stores have large items on display outside which are chained up. Chain your bike there, to several carts, or simply take it to the customer service desk and ask them if they'll hold something for you while you shop and, when they say yes, hand them your bike. The island I live on I don't think has ever had a bike theft since no one locks their bikes, so we just leave them out front.

What's wrong with that?
I was told by a shopkeeper that I would be blocking the sidewalk if I did. I guess I could just lean it against the building, but knowing this town, it would be considered 'unsightly' :rolleyes: