The Ultimate Arlington Grocery Store Bike Parking Guide!!

[creadinger]

Very nice!

My wife and I visit the Harris Teeter on Glebe Road and Shoppers at Potomac Yard on our bikes almost weekly. I agree with the 4.33 rating for the HT because it does have ample parking and it’s near the store entrance as well. He didn’t mention though that the exit out the back of the garage has a really steep ramp, which you have to be in, or prepared to shift to your lowest gear pretty quickly, especially if you’re carrying a couple of panniers full of stuff.

I guess the Shoppers about a half-mile south of there in the Potomac Yard is in Alexandria? My review on that is that the store has basically no designated bike parking, although there are lots of steel pipes near the front doors where one can lock up their bike. A rack would be nice, but I suppose it’s not necessary.

[Arlingtonrider]

Several of the bikes shown in the photo at the Shirlington Harris Teeter seem to have been sitting there unused for quite some time. (I’ll skip a long explanation of why I believe this is the case.) Irrespective of that crowded rack, I think many cyclists who shop at that store, myself included, use one of the many bike racks at the adjacent library or nearby, or alternatively, a lamppost or sign post. If you count all those racks and other places to lock a bike, it’s very easy to park there. Next time I see the HT manager, I’ll ask what the story is on some of the bikes that never seem to budge, day or night, from what appears to be a Harris Teeter rack.

Update: The Harris Teeter manager said that the bike rack photographed is not their rack and that the bikes might belong to people in the condos, even though those residents have a separate bike cage. She suggested contacting Harris Teeter corporate at 1-800-432-6111 to request bike racks for Harris Teeter stores. Call to action, folks!

p.s. It’s great that BikeArlington and Brian put this together, but there is room for improvement. It’s a good first start.

[PotomacCyclist]

This is a good list, but you should also include nearby Capital Bikeshare stations to the analysis. We’re fortunate in Arlington to have a good bikesharing system. Although the station buildout is not finished, CaBi is already a convenient means of transport for people in some neighborhoods. Hopefully by the summer, cyclists in many more neighborhoods will have the opportunity to use CaBi for grocery shopping. I use CaBi for most of my trips to the grocery. Now I don’t have to worry about locking up my own bike outside.

Over in Alexandria, I believe that Harris Teeter is sponsoring one of the expansion stations, in the 2nd wave of Alexandria stations. It will be located in the northern part of Old Town. Maybe Arlington grocery stores can be convinced to contribute to the cost of stations on or near their property.

[eminva]

This is very good, and comports with my experience. I think it is a shame that cyclists find it necessary to park their bikes to barricades by store entrances. That makes entry and exit more difficult for all patrons, and I expect it would expose the bike to more risk of getting damaged by people passing through. I hope the offending grocery stores see the light and improve bike parking.

Liz

[KLizotte]

@Arlingtonrider 13006 wrote:

Next time I see the manager I’ll ask what the story is on the bikes sitting in the “official” Harris Teeter rack.

Perhaps they belong to commuting employees of the store, library, etc? Could also belong to residents of the local apartment bldgs as well (presuming the landlords don’t provide bike storage).

I do wish Shirlington had more bike racks though.

Given that Pentagon Row is a relatively new complex, its dearth of bike racks does make me think that the County’s development approval process needs to be beefed to stipulate better bike facilities when building permits are sought. Similar to how xx number of handicapped parking spaces are required when a shopping/hotel/apartment/office building goes up.

[Arlingtonrider]

Have you had a problem parking your bike in Shirlington? They’ve installed racks all over the Village in the past couple of years, and also have racks in several of the garages that you might not have noticed, in addition to lots of things that a bike can be locked onto. I’d be glad to talk to the realty company if people think there really is a problem, but I go there all the time and have never had a problem with it.

With regard to Harris Teeter specifically, please see update to my post above.

As an aside, I was upset that the Pentagon City Costco didn’t have a bike rack and was ready to take it up with the manager – and then I found out that they do have one. It was just on a side of the building that I had never looked at before.

[5555624]

Glebe Market at N Pershing Dr and N Glebe Rd is missing from the list.

The Harris Teeter at 600 North Glebe Rd used to be far worse. The rack used to be under the outside emergency stairs and blocked by all the shopping carts. The rack is not that well lit for anyone who rides there in the middle of the night. (I used to use a sign, near the door, when I’d go at 4:00 a.m.)

[StopMeansStop]

I hate wave racks. They are useless for mini u locks

[Allen Muchnick]

“As an aside, I was upset that the Pentagon City Costco didn’t have a bike rack and was ready to take it up with the manager – and then I found out that they do have one. It was just on a side of the building that I had never looked at before.”

The Costco in Pentagon City is another Arlington grocery store that was omitted from the survey. That bike rack has been there since the store first opened (as Price Club), and it’s clearly inadequate.

[KLizotte]

@Arlingtonrider 13011 wrote:

Have you had a problem parking your bike in Shirlington? They’ve installed racks all over the Village in the past couple of years, and also have racks in several of the garages that you might not have noticed, in addition to lots of things that a bike can be locked onto. I’d be glad to talk to the realty company if people think there really is a problem, but I go there all the time and have never had a problem with it.

When I mentioned that I wished Shirlington had more bike parking I was thinking of all the times I’ve seen people locking up to signs, trees, etc in the area around the library/Busboys. Seems like they could use a few more racks around there. I wasn’t aware that there are racks inside the garage.

The toast rack (unsecured to the ground) next to the entrance to My Organic Market (MOM) on Mt. Vernon Ave is pitiful; there is a rack on the street side of the store though.

[eminva]

@StopMeansStop 13114 wrote:

I hate wave racks. They are useless for mini u locks

?

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[Tim Kelley]

@Allen Muchnick 13199 wrote:

“As an aside, I was upset that the Pentagon City Costco didn’t have a bike rack and was ready to take it up with the manager – and then I found out that they do have one. It was just on a side of the building that I had never looked at before.”

The Costco in Pentagon City is another Arlington grocery store that was omitted from the survey. That bike rack has been there since the store first opened (as Price Club), and it’s clearly inadequate.

@5555624 13112 wrote:

Glebe Market at N Pershing Dr and N Glebe Rd is missing from the list.

The Harris Teeter at 600 North Glebe Rd used to be far worse. The rack used to be under the outside emergency stairs and blocked by all the shopping carts. The rack is not that well lit for anyone who rides there in the middle of the night. (I used to use a sign, near the door, when I’d go at 4:00 a.m.)

Brian McEntee of Tales from the Sharrows did the research and photography and most of the write up. I think he defined grocery stores as the traditional/popular style of grocery store one might imagine whereas Costco and the Glebe Market don’t really fit into that definition. (Although Food Star might be a bit of a outlier…)

We would be VERY happy to include them though. Allen Muchnick and 5555624, I urge you both to visit the stores you suggested, rate them using the criteria in the rest of the writeup, take notes and some photographs, and do a short recap to email to me. Just send your recap to info@bikearlington.com and I’ll get it included.

Thanks!

[5555624]

@Tim Kelley 13233 wrote:

I think he defined grocery stores as the traditional/popular style of grocery store one might imagine whereas Costco and the Glebe Market don’t really fit into that definition. (Although Food Star might be a bit of a outlier…)

What defines “traditional/popular”? Chains that sell only groceries? That would explain Food Star being an outlier and explain why Glebe Market (not a chain) and Costco (more than groceries) were excluded. I guess I will have to ask Brian.

I’ll send you the info when I have a chance to get some pictures of Glebe Market.

[Tim Kelley]

@5555624 13239 wrote:

What defines “traditional/popular”? Chains that sell only groceries? That would explain Food Star being an outlier and explain why Glebe Market (not a chain) and Costco (more than groceries) were excluded.

Yup, I think you answered your own question. Or maybe Brian didn’t think of or know about those two when he was doing his research? Either way, we’re happy to include them going forward!

[consularrider]

@5555624 13239 wrote:

What defines “traditional/popular”? Chains that sell only groceries? That would explain Food Star being an outlier and explain why Glebe Market (not a chain) and Costco (more than groceries) were excluded. I guess I will have to ask Brian.

I’ll send you the info when I have a chance to get some pictures of Glebe Market.

A similar type of grocery that is not included would be the Westover Market on Washington Blvd. As I recall there are a couple of inverted U racks in that block and then some others by the branch library.

[Author]

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