BicycleCrazy

Interesting article on NBC regarding bike lanes.

Your thoughts? Do you spend more money at local businesses when you ride your bike?

chefisaac

If the business allow me to take my bike in, then yes. Or provide an area that allows me to properly lock up my bike. To be frank, I like restaurants that allow me to sit outside and keep an eye on the bike.

scoatw

I know that I do. I'm more likely to stop somewhere on the way home rather than get home and then go back out. And if our main drag had a dedicated bike lane I would frequent those businesses more also.

BicycleCrazy

I totally agree with you in regards to parking. I have on more than one occasion chosen a particular business over another because of inadequate places to secure my bike. I was reading that a local convenience store in Portland, Or. recently installed bike racks at 12 of it's stores for that very reason.

SPECELIZEDRIDER

Yup they get my business hands down, Rebertos taco shop open 24 hours is one.

Bluish Green

I switched grocery stores because my old one has no bike parking provided, while my new one has a bike rack under an awning/covering with good lighting.

SPECELIZEDRIDER

If there is no secure bike parking near by than it's a no go on that business.

cyclokitty 

Luckily, most places I cycle to for errands and groceries have good bike racks outside on the sidewalk or near the front door. There is one section I visit that doesn't have a bike rack nearby, it's about a block away, but they let me bring my bike inside. I'd much rather have a bike rack outside on this block but the city took them out a few years ago when the sidewalk and street was re-paved. I guess what I should do is email the section responsible for bike racks and request some be put in the block. I've seen others on bikes in the area so I know I'm not the only who'd use it.

I prefer doing as many errands as possible by bike and even the local Home Despot (ok, it's more of a 10km round trip, but it's a fun trip) has a decent rack in front of it.

prathmann

Works for me since I do most of my shopping trips by bike. Ironically the last thing I bought by bike was a replacement car tire.

PatrickGSR94

This, I recently rode 20 miles around downtown and midtown, then stopped at a deli for lunch. I sat outside on their patio, got a table near the building windows, and just propped my bike up right there between the table and the building wall.

And of course on that article you have some dude saying bikes should be registered pay insurance blah blah blah pay to use the road blah blah blah

BassNotBass

Until the overwhelming majority of motorists, the DOT, the DMV, the police, insurance agencies, et al acknowledge the fact that cyclists have the same rights as motorists , I'm not paying squat. There'll be a new breed of 'outlaw biker'.

locolobo13 

For some reason I picture you riding along one hand on the bars the other rolling a tire down the road. Hope you had a trailer.

prathmann

Yes, I did use a trailer. My Bike Friday folder came with a trailer frame for holding the suitcase for the bike when traveling by plane. The suitcase sits on top attached by three bolts that stick up from the frame. I made a utility trailer out of it by taking a piece of plywood and drilling three holes in it for the bolts plus a few more along the sides for bungee cords or straps.

But your mental image isn't too far off from when I purchased my road bike and took it home by holding its stem while riding my other bike one-handed. Fortunately bicycles can be steered much more accurately than a free-rolling car tire.

Mark Stone

My city put bike lanes on Piedras St., a wonderful strip with small local shops - a barber, boot repair, bakeries, etc. But since we have no definable bike advocacy or culture here, no one used the lanes and they were scrapped after shop owners complained and it was shown that the lanes harmed business. On the other hand, a lot of businesses within a 5 mile radius of my home get more business than they would have if I was "car-only". Bike racks in front of businesses is a thumbs-up

KonAaron Snake 

I really do go out of my way to support shops that let me take the bike inside - and I do my best to make sure they know why. Bike lanes I can take or leave, most I'd rather leave.

I've been an Apple products guy for a few years now, but the lack of bike parking in front of their Philly store really aggravates me, especially as I feel that it's intentional. I used to be able to park inside without hassle, but lately they say something and I have to say "you've let me before." Once I have to argue and get grief, I want to avoid you. I've been slowly deciding to phase away from them, and the parking does play a role in that.

GP

We have the Bike Commuter Discount Program. A local commuting forum put it together. You show up on yur bike and they give you a discount.

gerv 

In my town, a recent bike lane installation was vehemently opposed by businesses on the street. After the installation, several businesses changed their minds completely. Apparently, sales increased... Some of this was bicycle traffic (for example, a motor cycle bar quickly converted to a fixie/SS joint..).

But it was more than bicycles that increased sales. The bike lanes kind of constrained cars into going slower. Business from cars also increased, especially since the bike lanes also allowed a turn lane in the middle of the street.

Bike Gremlin

I almost exclusively run errands on a bicycle. Car and even a motorcycle are too bothersome to park, maneuver, etc. Bicycle is like going on foot - but quicker. Stop in 1 second, lock the bike in 10 more seconds and visit a shop.

kookaburra1701

95% of my errand running is by bicycle, so yes, bike lanes and parking definitely means that I will be more likely to frequent a business. For example, there's an AWESOME local-food market/co-op store I love going to (they sell raw goat milk from the dairy where I used to work) but the street it's on is hellish, even in a car. I would shop there much more often (now I get there about once a week or so, basically however long it takes for me to go through my half-gallon of goat milk) if it had bike infrastructure.

jdswitters

Pubs, anymore I only go to the ones that let me park inside, there are a few int he area.

Grocery shopping, the one 1.5 miles away gets my business because i can take the bike lane, the one half a mile away is at a busy intersection without bike lanes in either direction, they see me once a month to buy tater tots the only thing the Sprouts doesn't carry.


The rest of town is pretty accessible by bike from where I live now, but I wont go back to a restaurant if there is not lighted bike parking right in front.

I travel a lot and look at new towns and cities wondering if I would like to bike there when driving through. Recently I went from Mobile AL one week to Corvallis OR the next. Mobile not so much but I saw some new bike lanes so they seem to be working on it. Coravallis, I thought this was a bike town till I went out in pouring rain to block 15 and saw more people on bikes than I see in the summer in FT Collins. Excellent bike town, although it looks like it might be so popular that bike parking might be a hassle.

kookaburra1701

If you'd gone in either direction on I5 for an hour, you'd have seen REAL Oregon bike towns. I'm partial to Eugene, of course. Oh, and one reason there's lots of cyclists in both Corvallis and Eugene are the Universities.

ETA: for the op - bikeyface recently had a good post about this phenomenon: https://bikeyface.com/2012/11/02/not-cyclists/

jyossarian

There was a study published a few months ago saying basically the same thing about the LES in NYC: cyclists spent more than public transportation takers who spent more than drivers at business where bike infrastructure existed. Biking + Walking = More Money Spent at Local Businesses

gerv 

I wonder why that is... although around here every bicycle trail ends at a bar or a restaurant... which tells me something.