Bike parking is on my mind at the moment. Last night we went to a concert and some pubs in town and, despite the chilly night, biked there and back. There was some pretty good bike parking at some venues, but we did have to resort to wrapping around a pole at one place. Tomorrow, with my car otherwise engaged, I’ll be jumping on my bike to grab a few groceries, which called to mind previous occasions when I’ve done that at my local supermarket and used their (pretty good) bike parking, as reported in this blog post originally from Jan 2021…
Apparently in many people’s minds, biking is still something you can only do recreationally “for fun” (some people still tellingly refer to it only as a “sport” or “hobby”…). And as for doing something practical like shopping – get real… So it is always rather comforting when I hop on the bike to nip down and pick up a few things from the local supermarket (or any other store) to find that I am not the only one who had a similar thought:
Increasingly, this is not an unusual sight at my neighbourhood supermarket: various bikes parked up and often with an interesting array of ways to carry stuff home. Not that car parking is often too difficult here either, but you do get the added bonus of being able to park right outside the store.
{Professional grumble: I’m never a fan of the “lollipop” bike racks and here they are placed too close to each other to get maximum usage – there are better options out there. Also their placement wasn’t too smart in terms of proximity to the adjacent carparks, as well as blocking the access path for wheelchair users…}
As has been pointed out before (and before and before…), cycling can be a very practical way to beat the crowds when you’re heading for the shops (certainly it worked well for me in the pre/post-Xmas shopping sprees). And there is plenty of evidence too that substituting your drive to the shops for a bike ride instead doesn’t hurt the local economy either.
Have you noticed more bikes parking at your local store?
Kia ora LennyBoy
Great to see my local NW featured! I emailed the store manager earlier in the year about redoing the bike parking here, by making use of the extensive taxi drop off area by the southern entry, about 10metres from this one. That frees up the space for those using the disability parks. They could just move the bike rack that is at the northern entry to the carpark… no reply at all.
Keen to tagteam this one to make something happen. It’s overflowing in the warmer months!