Brand New Bike Parking Guide for Developers Available

[Anonymous]

@huskerdont 131138 wrote:

I no longer have the email where they announced the new racks, but my memory is that it was the floors where they felt putting in bolts would be a problem. The epoxy is a good idea.

Ever since I heard that a few little bolts were going to make the parking garage floors unsafe, I’ve curiously felt the need to get out of there as fast as possible, and never go to the lower floors.

oh, please. Heavy equipment is bolted to concrete pads all the time. Of course there are specifications for strength and thickness of concrete (and the anchors) based on the load it is expected to carry, but the idea that a concrete floor in a parking garage will crumble if a bike rack is bolted to it is silly.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’ve noticed that some store and restaurant chains put more of an emphasis on providing bike parking than others. I think this has to be a corporate-level policy, at least in some cases, because I see consistent patterns. In particular, Chipotle restaurants and REI and Target stores have bike racks much more often than some other national chains. I’ve tracked enough locations and bike racks in the DC region now to know that these patterns exist, whether by choice or by accident. I tend to think it’s by choice and corporate policy. (I guess this is a benefit of mapping bike racks, seeing patterns that wouldn’t be noticed otherwise.)

So this got me thinking. Why not encourage more chains to have similar policies, if there are indeed such policies? A properly-installed U bike rack is a relatively small expense for a large chain. At the same time, it can bring in bike-riding customers, including those who might stop to make an impulse purchase. I’ve looked around for bike racks in the middle of some longer outings in exactly this situation, trying to find a casual restaurant with bike racks for an unplanned stop.

Bike racks are also an easy way to build some good will, especially for some brands that have gotten hammered in recent years for the health of their customers. This includes chains like McDonald’s, whose sales have started to plateau in many areas. They have been hit hard by documentaries like “Super Size Me.” I haven’t seen the entire film so I can’t judge it on its merits. I just know that it has been influential among many observers and it has contributed to the mixed fortunes of McDonald’s recently. I do think portion size is only one factor in diet and health. High-sugar diets are perhaps an even bigger problem and most fast-food places serve sugary sodas, not just McDonald’s.

(I’m not really a McDonald’s fan, because the fries are way too salty and I’ve had some burgers with brown lettuce, hidden in the center of the bun, after the peak dinner period when they seem to be trying to get rid of old food without throwing it away. Other fast-food places do similar things, in my experience, such as using scraps in their sandwiches after the midday lunch rush is over.)

Anyway, knowing that some chains already seem to have bike-parking policies and knowing that McDonald’s is still the biggest or one of the biggest chains out there, I thought it would be good for McDonald’s to institute a similar policy of providing more bike parking at its restaurants nationwide, and even worldwide. They could hype up the policy to show their concern (real or not) about the health of their customers. Even if they would only do this for the PR benefit, it could bring the idea of practical cycling to a large new group of people, inactive McDonald’s customers who don’t walk or bike that much. While I don’t think the presence of bike racks at McDonald’s would magically transform the lifestyles of all the customers, it would be another step toward normalizing the idea that many people bike for transportation, to commute and to run errands.

I know that not all McDonald’s customers are inactive and unhealthy. But many are. Plus I know that McDonald’s is still popular and influential in many areas, including many locations that aren’t that focused on cycling today.

Since there are so many McDonald’s restaurants, if there were a nationwide policy to promote bike rack installation, this would bring bike racks to many new areas, including suburban and rural areas that do not have many bike racks today.

It would cost relatively little for McDonald’s to add bike racks. Even just a few racks per location could help, and the cost per restaurant would not be exorbitant. In situations where the bikes begin to see heavy use, the company and the franchisees could see that bike racks lead to more sales and so more racks could be added.

I sent them a message about this suggestion. I don’t have any expectations that this will spur them into a brand new policy, but hey, it doesn’t hurt to try. If enough people bring up the idea, maybe sooner or later, they will think about instituting it. Maybe bike and advocacy groups like BikeArlington and WABA could make similar suggestions, not just to McDonald’s but to other large national and regional chains.

If McDonald’s adopts a bike parking policy and promotes it, it could encourage even more large chains to adopt similar policies to add bike racks at their stores and restaurants nationwide. This could be a potentially large source of additional bike parking nationwide, without having to scrounge around for public funding for new bike racks. Perhaps this could free up local, state and federal agencies to focus more on building protected bike lanes, safer intersections, bike/pedestrian bridges and separated trails, if they don’t need to focus on installing as many bike racks.

This effort can exist alongside efforts to encourage businesses to participate in bikeshare networks. While some businesses and groups have been willing to contribute to the cost of installing bike stations nearby, others might be deterred by the high cost of a station. In comparison, bike racks are much less expensive but they still provide some bike-friendly credibility.

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As far as small independent stores go, I see patterns there too. Of course most bike shops have bike racks. But so do many health food stores and some places with a connection to environmental issues.

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