this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2023
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When you do see a bike rack in front of a store, how often is it occupied? Simply putting a bike rack on the sidewalk is a waste of time and money if it isn't a location likely to be visited by bike. The store owners know this.
As an anecdotal example, a few of my local grocery and hardware stores have bike racks out front, but no sane person is going to risk pedaling through the surrounding 5-lane suburban stroads to get to them.
How often do you see an empty parking spot? You can fit 6-12 bikes in the average space a parking spot takes up.
My point is that bike racks are the last piece of the puzzle. First we need major changes in urban infrastructure. An empty parking spot at a suburban Wal-Mart will occasionally be used, but an empty bike rack at the same place will never be used because nobody will bike there.
Edit for wording.
While I can see your point, I think it's a chicken vs egg scenario. Major changes to infrastructure don't come about unless theres a need to be legally compliant, or there's a societal change driving the need. I really do think that if half of my neighborhood started biking in some capacity on a regular basis there'd be bike racks on store fronts in a matter of weeks, followed by the necessary infrastructure change. But I don't necessarily see it working the other way as quickly. Trust me though, I'd rather the infrastructure changed first as you said because it's kind of a nightmare riding around safely in some parts of my town.
True, at one Walmart I went to the area had a significant amount of Amish shoppers. They had horse hitches complete with roofs over them. If enough bike traffic comes through it's a much easier sell for the business owners.
I go to Walmart several times a week, and their two racks always have bikes on them. Every single time I go.
A local grocery store that I've biked to had one rack and it's FULL most of the time.
Stores that don't have bike racks end up with bikes tied up to random spots outside.
The need is there.
I'll also add that these same places have 50% of their parking lots empty. We're talking at least 50 spots no matter the time of day, empty at our walmart.
I can't think of many places where a bike rack wouldn't be useful. In these plazas you have coffee shops, optometrists, a convenience store, maybe a cell phone shop, etc. In and out type places. In a plaza, at least one store would benefit. But likely more than one.
That's not a problem caused by a lack or inclusion of bike lanes. Those areas (we have them too) need balance, and you wont get that if cars win.
For so many people (like most people), the stores they shop at are close enough to make bike use an option the majority of the time, but only if the destination accommodates them better.