bike parking hall of fame/hall of shame (was bike parking at stores, libraries and other major destinations)
I previously started this topic with a slightly different focus. I'd like to keep the info we've already gathered and encourage you all to add more. The goal is to collect data for a project I'm pursuing with a few folks to improve bike parking in the city.
Please post comments about Chicago businesses whose bike parking is either good (to say thanks) or needs improvement. Include identifying information - name of business, address, and what is good or not so good about their bike parking.
Photos are useful if you can get 'em. If you have multiple businesses you'd like to mention, feel free. They can be big chains (Jewel, Dominick's, Walgreens, Home Depot, etc.), franchises (hardware or fast food stores, for examples), or independent businesses.
If you talk to a store manager about the issue, tell us if you got any positive results.
Thanks for all your info! It would be great if we can get better bike parking at the majority of stores and restaurants in bike-accessible locations in the next few years. Your info can help make that possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've had an ongoing discussion with a few people about the lack of good bike parking at most grocery stores, drug stores, etc.
County Fair (a family-owned independent) at 108th & Western has city racks out front. Riding there to shop is a piece of cake.
Jewel and Dominick's stores typically have no racks at all or one rack installed so close to a wall that it can only be used by a few bikes, or one rack in a location where it's always surrounded by shopping carts - not bike friendly. Walgreens stores near me have wheel bender racks similar to this.
The nearest CVS has a city rack out front near the door, which is well used, but the one on their own property is so far from the flow of traffic and installed so close to the wall that it's never used.
There's a new public library on 95th St. that opened less than a year ago. It has a 10-bike rack near the front door. Guess what? It's installed so close to the wall nothing with wheels larger than 20" can be secured to it with a U-lock. It usually has no more than 2 bikes locked to it, then people start locking to the nearby benches and fence.
Meanwhile, another perfectly good 10-bike rack goes unused, because it's tucked away in the corner of the parking lot, out of sight from where most cyclists approach the library.
Which grocery store, pharmacy and library are your usual stops? Do they have good bike parking? Tell us about what's good or bad about the bike parking at these places or other frequent destinations. Curious minds want to know.
Please post comments about Chicago businesses whose bike parking is either good (to say thanks) or needs improvement. Include identifying information - name of business, address, and what is good or not so good about their bike parking.
Photos are useful if you can get 'em. If you have multiple businesses you'd like to mention, feel free. They can be big chains (Jewel, Dominick's, Walgreens, Home Depot, etc.), franchises (hardware or fast food stores, for examples), or independent businesses.
If you talk to a store manager about the issue, tell us if you got any positive results.
Thanks for all your info! It would be great if we can get better bike parking at the majority of stores and restaurants in bike-accessible locations in the next few years. Your info can help make that possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've had an ongoing discussion with a few people about the lack of good bike parking at most grocery stores, drug stores, etc.
County Fair (a family-owned independent) at 108th & Western has city racks out front. Riding there to shop is a piece of cake.
Jewel and Dominick's stores typically have no racks at all or one rack installed so close to a wall that it can only be used by a few bikes, or one rack in a location where it's always surrounded by shopping carts - not bike friendly. Walgreens stores near me have wheel bender racks similar to this.
The nearest CVS has a city rack out front near the door, which is well used, but the one on their own property is so far from the flow of traffic and installed so close to the wall that it's never used.
There's a new public library on 95th St. that opened less than a year ago. It has a 10-bike rack near the front door. Guess what? It's installed so close to the wall nothing with wheels larger than 20" can be secured to it with a U-lock. It usually has no more than 2 bikes locked to it, then people start locking to the nearby benches and fence.
Meanwhile, another perfectly good 10-bike rack goes unused, because it's tucked away in the corner of the parking lot, out of sight from where most cyclists approach the library.
Which grocery store, pharmacy and library are your usual stops? Do they have good bike parking? Tell us about what's good or bad about the bike parking at these places or other frequent destinations. Curious minds want to know.
Tags: bike parking, bike rack, hall of fame, shame
Views: 1713
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on -
A wheel bender rack is anything that is based around the expectation that you'll roll your bike up and stick your front wheel into it. It can be the old galvanized style we saw everywhere in the 70s, or a few new incarnations that only come up to about 1/3 the height of the wheel.
Here's a simple example:
It's more of a term of un-endearment than what this style of rack is actually called . . .
cinchel said:Anne Alt said:What's the location of your library with the wheel bender rack and your grocery store with no bike parking?
I have never heard this term before. what is a wheel bender rack/what do they look like?
-
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on -
Yep, that's one example. The 1/3 height version Howard referred to looks like this. It's not very effective except for kids' bikes with small wheels, hence it's other nickname - schoolyard rack.
So what are the locations of the library and grocery store you mentioned?
H3N3 said:A wheel bender rack is anything that is based around the expectation that you'll roll your bike up and stick your front wheel into it. It can be the old galvanized style we saw everywhere in the 70s, or a few new incarnations that only come up to about 1/3 the height of the wheel.
Here's a simple example:
It's more of a term of un-endearment than what this style of rack is actually called . . .
cinchel said:Anne Alt said:What's the location of your library with the wheel bender rack and your grocery store with no bike parking?
I have never heard this term before. what is a wheel bender rack/what do they look like?
-
Permalink Reply by CjBad on -
The Jewel/KMart Plaza on Ashland between North and Milwaukee has a poor bike parking system. There used to be a couple racks there but one got beat to pieces (real comforting) and the other closer to Kmart's entrance is small and looks like it is a few good kicks from being destroyed.
Jewel does have the gating in front of it but the bikes can impede pedestrian/cart traffic.
One place of note that doesn't makes sense to me is the Handlebar bar on North Ave has crappy bike parking! There is a small pole area in front of the bar, two sign posts and a fence immediately next door (the outdoor patio area). You'd think that a bar that caters to cyclists would have better bike parking. I dig the place but it was too inconvenient to lock it up tonight and it was a Monday! Half the bar was empty.
I do like this bar a lot but it could use better bike parking.
I also wish Stanley's on North Ave and Elston had more bike parking and/or better placed racks. Quite a few times going there, I've had to basically wait for a person to come out and free up their spot from one of I believe three upside down U posts. Stanley's is a great place but their bike parking leaves something to be desired.
I do appreciate Target on Elston @ Logan Blvd for their bike parking as well as Microcenters across the street. Very nice.
-
Permalink Reply by Hannah Bass on -
Another problem is that a lot of bike parking is right next to busy streets and near drains, which in the winter become clogged, and then cars splash salt water on your gears - problem because I now have a completely rusted set of gears on my winter bike after four months of needing to park it on Addison. It would be nice to make sure it's not too close to a drain, or to put it closer to the building or under an overhang if possible to keep the bikes safer from the elements.
-
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
-
The racks themselves also take a beating when they're near the curb on a busy street. Yesterday morning I was on 95th St. locking my bike to a rack, which had a 2004 installation label on top. There was a significant amount of rust on the rack. I've noticed the same problem in many older street-side racks on busy streets. Racks that are several feet away from the curb stay in good condition a lot longer.
Hannah Bass said:Another problem is that a lot of bike parking is right next to busy streets and near drains, which in the winter become clogged, and then cars splash salt water on your gears - problem because I now have a completely rusted set of gears on my winter bike after four months of needing to park it on Addison. It would be nice to make sure it's not too close to a drain, or to put it closer to the building or under an overhang if possible to keep the bikes safer from the elements.
-
Permalink Reply by clp on -
Christopher Bidinger said:
...One place of note that doesn't makes sense to me is the Handlebar bar on North Ave has crappy bike parking!..You'd think that a bar that caters to cyclists would have better bike parking. I dig the place but it was too inconvenient to lock it up tonight and it was a Monday! Half the bar was empty....
I may be wrong now, but last summer my buddy and I brought our bikes in the Handlebar's rear gate from the alley, and there was a great bike rack at the back of the back yard. Is that now gone?
-
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on -
Last time Marauders were at the Handlebar, the back patio bike racks were still there.
Clark said:Christopher Bidinger said:
...One place of note that doesn't makes sense to me is the Handlebar bar on North Ave has crappy bike parking!..You'd think that a bar that caters to cyclists would have better bike parking. I dig the place but it was too inconvenient to lock it up tonight and it was a Monday! Half the bar was empty....
I may be wrong now, but last summer my buddy and I brought our bikes in the Handlebar's rear gate from the alley, and there was a great bike rack at the back of the back yard. Is that now gone?
-
Permalink Reply by pb on -
Yup, the racks in the back patio are still around, as well as the transparent green roof that makes everyone look nice and sickly in the shade.
Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:Last time Marauders were at the Handlebar, the back patio bike racks were still there.
Clark said:Christopher Bidinger said:
...One place of note that doesn't makes sense to me is the Handlebar bar on North Ave has crappy bike parking!..You'd think that a bar that caters to cyclists would have better bike parking. I dig the place but it was too inconvenient to lock it up tonight and it was a Monday! Half the bar was empty....
I may be wrong now, but last summer my buddy and I brought our bikes in the Handlebar's rear gate from the alley, and there was a great bike rack at the back of the back yard. Is that now gone?
-
Permalink Reply by CjBad on
-
Ya know, I do need to retract my statement about Handlebar, they do have plenty of parking when I opened my eyes. I was there today and there are a ton of spots in and around the place. Initially I just noticed the very front of the bar in which there isn't much parking. Sorry, I was a newb to the bar a couple days ago and after another trip there tonight, I realized how much there really was. My bad!
pb said:Yup, the racks in the back patio are still around, as well as the transparent green roof that makes everyone look nice and sickly in the shade.
Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:Last time Marauders were at the Handlebar, the back patio bike racks were still there.
Clark said:Christopher Bidinger said:
...One place of note that doesn't makes sense to me is the Handlebar bar on North Ave has crappy bike parking!..You'd think that a bar that caters to cyclists would have better bike parking. I dig the place but it was too inconvenient to lock it up tonight and it was a Monday! Half the bar was empty....
I may be wrong now, but last summer my buddy and I brought our bikes in the Handlebar's rear gate from the alley, and there was a great bike rack at the back of the back yard. Is that now gone?
-
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
-
I've created an e-mail address to collect photos and other details for this project. I'm especially interested in your examples from big chain stores, such as Jewel, Dominick's, Home Depot, Walgreens, etc.
Going shopping soon? Please take a photo or two of good AND bad examples of bike parking where you need to shop. If the store has bad racks, and/or racks installed too close to a wall or where they always get buried in shopping carts, we want to see 'em. E-mail your photos with location and other descriptive info to: chibikeparking (at) gmail (dot) com
-
Permalink Reply by heather s on -
I never go to that Jewel because of the awful bike parking there. The rack in front of the K-Mart is a wheel-bender and looks like it would fall apart if you sneezed on it. I once locked to the fence on Paulina and a Jewel employee told me I wasn't allowed to lock there. I don't know whether that's a real rule or if the guy was just being a tool though.
Christopher Bidinger said:The Jewel/KMart Plaza on Ashland between North and Milwaukee has a poor bike parking system. There used to be a couple racks there but one got beat to pieces (real comforting) and the other closer to Kmart's entrance is small and looks like it is a few good kicks from being destroyed.
Jewel does have the gating in front of it but the bikes can impede pedestrian/cart traffic.
-
Permalink Reply by heather s on
-
The Whole Foods on Canal is definitely the best example. The locations in Lakeview (on Ashland and Halsted) are pretty good too-- not enclosed, but at least plenty of spaces and properly installed. However, the Lincoln Park location seems to have a tough time getting it right. Both the old location on North Ave and the new one on Kingsbury have a bike rack area in outdoor parking lot, not on the sidewalk, so it becomes a convenient place to pile up all the snow from plowing the parking lot. The new location is especially annoying because of all the railroad tracks on Kingsbury, but I guess there's nothing Whole Foods can do about that.
Anne Alt said:I think that Whole Foods definitely gets it. That particular store probably has the best bike parking of any store in the city - lots of good racks, properly installed, close to the store entrance, out of the weather. Anyone else seen better bike parking at a store around here?
Michael Perz said:It may be worth mentioning that the Whole Foods on Canal just north of Roosevelt sports a fairly impressive array of bike racks beneath the parking deck. It also appears to be under camera surveillance.
© 2008-2013 The Chainlink Community, L.L.C. Julie Hochstadter, Director
Powered by
