New Bike Rack at ALDI. Should we be thankful... or insulted?

Had the Grand Re-Opening of the 20+ year old ALDI in up here in Round Lake Beach IL (NW 'burbs) just a few days ago.

Knowing the upgrade was coming, members of the Round Lake Area Bicycle Club started early, attending the Zoning meetings where the remodeling was discussed, convinced the village and ALDI Project Manager w/plenty of photos that cyclists DID shop at that store and that bicycle parking was both justified and essential (almost 30,000 residents in our village!), and provided several documents showing what made for good (and bad) retail bike parking.  

After the experiences with the new Meijer (itty-bitty non-supportive "Wave" rack) and a re-modeled Jewel-Osco (Undersized "Comb" or schoolyard style rack, mounted too close to a wall)... we thought we'd finally get a Home Run here.

This store NEVER puts out "Seasonal Merchandise" like pallets of mulch, Halloween Pumpkins, firewood, etc. Otherwise, we could >almost< understand why the bike rack wasn't place closer to the entrance.

Well, at least they provided a good type of rack, and the location is easily and inexpensively expandable when we show over time that more is needed. The "kicker" is that they cut down a tree which formerly provided the only secure attachment point, so our net gain of parking spots is zero (although the "Staple" design provides more physical support).

"One step at a time"... right?

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Permalink Reply by Jared on October 31, 2017 at 9:51am

You can put a request in with the city to install a sidewalk rack there, though it will probably take awhile.

Permalink Reply by Cheryl on November 1, 2017 at 11:13am

I have put in a request, although not checked the status. 

I was surprised that the request I put in for a rack near Capone's was rejected for lack of sidewalk space.

Permalink Reply by Kate on November 2, 2017 at 5:06am

The one on Montrose at Western has bike racks now!

Permalink Reply by Cheryl on November 5, 2017 at 7:21am
Yay!!!!
Permalink Reply by yaco boobies on November 5, 2017 at 5:49pm

I love it - the picture of 1 staple - too funny!

But - do ya need to put a quarter in it??? ;-) )))

I shop a lot at Aldi's and the one by me regularly has several bikes. People lock them to the benches out front here in the burbs. It amazes me the resistance to bike racks by businesses. When I was running my local bike club we tried to buy one for the bank where we had meetings as a thank you for letting us use the space for free. They declined saying nobody rode to the bank even though it was in a residential area. We provided photos showing people using the bank leaving their bikes leaning against the bank. Again no. Thought they were concerned about the look of the rack - showed them several nice designs -some approaching art level.  My board authorized up to $2500 - we would pay for everything. Again the answer was no. Still can't figure that one out unless they were worried about some type of liability. Never could get a real answer other than..."nobody rides to the bank".

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