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.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Vondo on October 20, 2010 at 9:36am

Around my house here in Little Village, we actually have very decent bike parking with 2-3 city racks on each block along 26th street. This is good since cycling around here isn't as widespread as in other parts of the city.A couple of my frequent stops, the Chase Bank on 26th, and the library on Pulaski have good wave type racks:

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Davo on October 20, 2010 at 9:58am

Im confused. What would be the proper way to lock to one of those racks? They look like they just welded metal hangers upside down to a piece of tubing all willy nilly.

Liz said:

performance has had those terrible racks for years. No one can use them properly. I've seen many nice bikes unlocked outside that store simply because there aren't many good ways to lock. One would think a bike shop would try and install usefull racks for its customers.

Anne Alt said:
Last night I stopped at Performance on Halsted for a few things. For years, they had one rack that was only suitable for end locking or over-the-top placement. Haven't been there in a while and discovered they now have 3 racks, none of them easy to use for secure locking.

There were 2 of these goofy racks I wasn't sure how to use (vertical bike placement?) and one wheelbender. It was obvious that I wasn't the only one who couldn't figure these out and didn't want to use the wheelbender. Will Performance ever get

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 20, 2010 at 11:00am

That's exactly what I was wondering when I was standing in front of those racks.

Davo said:

Im confused. What would be the proper way to lock to one of those racks? They look like they just welded metal hangers upside down to a piece of tubing all willy nilly.

Liz said:
performance has had those terrible racks for years. No one can use them properly. I've seen many nice bikes unlocked outside that store simply because there aren't many good ways to lock. One would think a bike shop would try and install usefull racks for its customers.

Anne Alt said:
Last night I stopped at Performance on Halsted for a few things. For years, they had one rack that was only suitable for end locking or over-the-top placement. Haven't been there in a while and discovered they now have 3 racks, none of them easy to use for secure locking.

There were 2 of these goofy racks I wasn't sure how to use (vertical bike placement?) and one wheelbender. It was obvious that I wasn't the only one who couldn't figure these out and didn't want to use the wheelbender. Will Performance ever get

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 20, 2010 at 3:44pm

I was actually there this afternoon and locked to one of those 'coat hanger' racks. I have a long Kryptonite U-lock; I went through my front wheel, the 'coat hanger' and around my down tube.

Anne Alt said:

That's exactly what I was wondering when I was standing in front of those racks.

Davo said:
Im confused. What would be the proper way to lock to one of those racks? They look like they just welded metal hangers upside down to a piece of tubing all willy nilly.

Liz said:
performance has had those terrible racks for years. No one can use them properly. I've seen many nice bikes unlocked outside that store simply because there aren't many good ways to lock. One would think a bike shop would try and install usefull racks for its customers.

Anne Alt said:
Last night I stopped at Performance on Halsted for a few things. For years, they had one rack that was only suitable for end locking or over-the-top placement. Haven't been there in a while and discovered they now have 3 racks, none of them easy to use for secure locking.

There were 2 of these goofy racks I wasn't sure how to use (vertical bike placement?) and one wheelbender. It was obvious that I wasn't the only one who couldn't figure these out and didn't want to use the wheelbender. Will Performance ever get

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Davo on October 21, 2010 at 5:07am

So Your front wheel goes up and into the "coat hanger"? I'd like to see a picture of this because I am still somewhat baffled by this style of rack.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

I was actually there this afternoon and locked to one of those 'coat hanger' racks. I have a long Kryptonite U-lock; I went through my front wheel, the 'coat hanger' and around my down tube

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 21, 2010 at 5:13am

Thanks for tracking down this link. The brochure includes lots of useful info, but has a few flaws. I've got a few suggestions.

If we are to use this, it would be a good idea to highlight the block of text on page 3 that says that wheelbender-type racks are NOT appropriate. The pictures on that page include 2 types of rack that are NOT recommended, and that text is separate from the related pictures, so highlighting those items could make a big difference. Drawing a NO symbol over the bad racks could be even better.

A store manager who didn't know anything about bike parking and who didn't read carefully might assume that those racks are okay because there's nothing separating them from the good racks on the page. Not the best brochure design, IMO - at least not that page.

John said:

I was able to track down this PDF of Bicycle Parking Guidelines from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals:
http://www.apbp.org/resource/resmgr/publications/bicycle_parking_gu...

Anne Alt said:
It would be great to have a downloadable PDF brochure that we could give to store managers so that they have useful info at hand. CDOT folks - What do you say?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 21, 2010 at 5:14am

I have a moderately long Kryptonite lock, and it was not long enough to go through front wheel, "coat hanger" AND downtube. :( That lock works in most places, too.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

I was actually there this afternoon and locked to one of those 'coat hanger' racks. I have a long Kryptonite U-lock; I went through my front wheel, the 'coat hanger' and around my down tube.

Anne Alt said:
That's exactly what I was wondering when I was standing in front of those racks.

Davo said:
Im confused. What would be the proper way to lock to one of those racks? They look like they just welded metal hangers upside down to a piece of tubing all willy nilly.

Liz said:
performance has had those terrible racks for years. No one can use them properly. I've seen many nice bikes unlocked outside that store simply because there aren't many good ways to lock. One would think a bike shop would try and install usefull racks for its customers.

Anne Alt said:
Last night I stopped at Performance on Halsted for a few things. For years, they had one rack that was only suitable for end locking or over-the-top placement. Haven't been there in a while and discovered they now have 3 racks, none of them easy to use for secure locking.

There were 2 of these goofy racks I wasn't sure how to use (vertical bike placement?) and one wheelbender. It was obvious that I wasn't the only one who couldn't figure these out and didn't want to use the wheelbender. Will Performance ever get

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 21, 2010 at 6:26am

Yes. I tried my back wheel first, but the front wheel on the ground kept turning.

I'll take a picture the next time I'm down there.

Davo said:

So Your front wheel goes up and into the "coat hanger"? I'd like to see a picture of this because I am still somewhat baffled by this style of rack.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
I was actually there this afternoon and locked to one of those 'coat hanger' racks. I have a long Kryptonite U-lock; I went through my front wheel, the 'coat hanger' and around my down tube

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 21, 2010 at 7:34am

A bike rack shouldn't be this challenging to figure out and use. *sigh*

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

Yes. I tried my back wheel first, but the front wheel on the ground kept turning.

I'll take a picture the next time I'm down there.

Davo said:
So Your front wheel goes up and into the "coat hanger"? I'd like to see a picture of this because I am still somewhat baffled by this style of rack.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
I was actually there this afternoon and locked to one of those 'coat hanger' racks. I have a long Kryptonite U-lock; I went through my front wheel, the 'coat hanger' and around my down tube

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Duppie on November 2, 2010 at 3:39am

Is this indicative of what will happen to bike racks in Chicago if you vote republican?

Photo taken this morning in front of the Cook County Republican Party offices on Lincoln @ Diversey.
Mind you, this office houses the Chicago Young Republican organization, not the Fat Old White Guy Republican organization ;)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Davo on November 2, 2010 at 3:44am

Well they are saying something about Alexi signing over $3million for bike racks in DC. Granted this is from a ad on tv and I have not researched this topic.