Bike Store Owner Opposes Bike Lanes Outside His Shop

[Mark McM]

On a related topic, your city might be involved in Parking Day, in which metered parking spots are converted to public open spaces a day, for all the public to enjoy a little more open space in the middle of the city:

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/s...ng-day/179091/

[Mark McM]

Another thing to consider is that multiple parking spaces are required for each car, and all that space adds up.


But how many parking spaces do we need?

Parking turns out to be surprisingly important in terms of supply chain energy, and even more so in terms of supply chain greenhouse gas pollution, as I discovered in researching the conference paper two weeks ago. The University of California at Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering found that one can document that there are about 3.4 parking spaces in America for each car, and that many well-cited and informed guesstimates say there may be as many as EIGHT parking spaces per car.

Why so many? Think about it: most people drive to work and need one parking space for each car at work and at home; they also need a space at their shopping center(s), friends' or families' homes, their church or other such facility, the sports stadium or school football field, at their restaurants or coffee shops and cleaners, and at their recreation facilities such as parks, movie theaters, etc.

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/david-b...save-emissions

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by redir

i'm done with city life

greenacres.jpg

Also, paging Donald Shoup et al

[wernerherzogsid]

Man's propensity for irrational self-destruction is without limit.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by zap

Not a big deal. Purchase another vehicle and pay someone at DMV to get a zyx tag.

That’s a good point. But try parking 2 cars in SF lol. I never drive to sf cuz I can’t even find parking for 1 car

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

All these comments and strange viewpoints make me so glad I don't live in a city. No parking, pay for parking, no vehicle,.....no thanks!

No vehicle is actually fantastic. You just have to adjust your lifestyle to a different norm. A better one if you ask me (i have a car i just dont use it)

[AngryScientist]

i didnt read the whole article, but let's just remember, it's easy for us to talk about this stuff on a bike forum, and opine about best use of city real estate, but this person owns a shop, and his livelihood and shop viability is on the line. if his business truly depends on drive up customers, and the city is making it less convenient for his customers to drive up, it's not a surprise that he would oppose such a change.

i live in North Jersey and my office is in NYC, and i would never consider driving into the city, it's just not something we do here, generally speaking. i guess i never really thought too much about it: how do city dwellers get their broken bikes to the bike shop? carry them by hand on public transportation i suppose?

it's an interesting conversation, and change is on the horizon!

[temeyone]

If my bike is broken badly enough that I can’t limp it to the bike shop, I probably didn’t make it home either. These aren’t broken bikes being driven to the shop - they’re just bikes due for regular maintenance/upgrades that owners don’t feel like riding to the shop. I’m confident in this.
I understand the perspective of the shop owner, but if your clientele isn’t willing to walk a few minutes to your shop, perhaps they aren’t going to be consistent customers regardless

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by temeyone

If my bike is broken badly enough that I can’t limp it to the bike shop, I probably didn’t make it home either. These aren’t broken bikes being driven to the shop - they’re just bikes due for regular maintenance/upgrades that owners don’t feel like riding to the shop. I’m confident in this.

Remember, there are many bike owners (usually the more casual cyclists) who will bring their bike into the shop for a flat tire.

Originally Posted by temeyone

I understand the perspective of the shop owner, but if your clientele isn’t willing to walk a few minutes to your shop, perhaps they aren’t going to be consistent customers regardless

I wonder about this too - are there that many bike shops in this area, that people can drive to the next shop in less time than it takes to walk from a parking space that's not directly in front of the shop? I can see how available parking can make a big difference in more commodity based shops (say, coffee shops, where the next one is just a block or two away), but bike shops typically serve a more specialty market, and are fewer and further between.

[br995]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

I've been commuting by bike nearly every day for the past 20 years and I also strongly oppose segregated bike lanes. Call me a hypocrite if you like.

It's more like 14 years for me but I somewhat agree. Segregated bike lanes - at least how they're often done here in Boston - take cyclists out of the view of motorists and therefore out of their consideration. Which is a problem at intersections, sidestreets, or whenever the segregated bike lane ends.

On a personal level I also hate being locked into a bike lane and losing the ability to pass & maneuver around obstacles/other road users.

That being said, I'd never say I strongly oppose segregated bike lanes. They are a net-benefit for cities where most people aren't dedicated cyclists like those of us in this forum; are great for tourists and making visitors feel more comfortable; and advance the goal of reducing car use in cities which we should all get behind.

[BobbyJones]

Great points for argument, but an oversimplification. Think about the slippery slope of "what your taxes pay for" vs. "what resources you use" discussions

Originally Posted by Mark McM

He's looking for the city to subsidize his business. Cities today devote far too much space to automobiles, particularly space to park them. Some may say that parking is too expensive, but in reality it is a bargain. When you compare it to cost per square foot for city rental properties (housing, commercial, etc.), parking rates don't pay their fare share, and are subsidized by the city. If the LBS owner was asked to pay the true costs of the parking spaces in front of his business, he'd probably be singing a different tune.

[Robot870]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i didnt read the whole article, but let's just remember, it's easy for us to talk about this stuff on a bike forum, and opine about best use of city real estate, but this person owns a shop, and his livelihood and shop viability is on the line. if his business truly depends on drive up customers, and the city is making it less convenient for his customers to drive up, it's not a surprise that he would oppose such a change.

i live in North Jersey and my office is in NYC, and i would never consider driving into the city, it's just not something we do here, generally speaking. i guess i never really thought too much about it: how do city dwellers get their broken bikes to the bike shop? carry them by hand on public transportation i suppose?

it's an interesting conversation, and change is on the horizon!

For me i have 3 bike stores within 2 blocks and one on my corner - Very easy living.....

[Heisenberg]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

"Paradise" !

The road in this pic is part of my daily bike ride route.




I'll smack a grizzly on the nose and let him eat me before I ever live in a city.

ah, the ogden valley in june is one of my favorite places to ride. if VC dude wants his customers to drive to his shop, maybe he should open up in eden.

anyway, back to op - valencia cyclery sells bikes directly to the people who benefit most from protected lanes and improved infrastructure. their stance re: bike lanes gives a lot of ammo to those opposed to more mobility in cities. ultimately, even outside of the backlash, this kind of behavior will hurt his bottom line. also, pretty sure they own both buildings they occupy. this city is too damned compact for extensive private vehicle usage (also DRIVING HERE IS SO SLOW). there is not enough room, period, compounded by the influx of rideshare cars from outside the city. we need to figure out alternatives to what we have now. making other mobility options more palatable to the general public through things like protected lanes is a step in the right direction and a net benefit overall.

i'm interested to see the data around lyft/uber bikeshare usage and how it affects personal bike usage (does it turn more people on to riding bikes? i've had a few friends get a bike of their own because they liked the bikeshares, but anecdotal data is useless).

tbh i don't own a townie bike in SF because of the rampant theft issues. if bike theft were actually prosecuted/policed i'd be more inclined to put together a cheaper bike to cruise around town on.

[rwsaunders]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

how do city dwellers get their broken bikes to the bike shop? carry them by hand on public transportation i suppose?

One of our kids lived near the University of Washington campus for two years and her bike needed some repairs, beyond what I could do. During a business trip in town, I called an Uber XL, popped the bike in the rear of the van and hauled it to the shop...easy peasy. I could have rented a Zipcar for an hour too.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

tbh i don't own a townie bike in SF because of the rampant theft issues. if bike theft were actually prosecuted/policed i'd be more inclined to put together a cheaper bike to cruise around town on.

The theft problem is bad, but not so bad that you can’t ride a bike around town. Lock your saddle and seatpost with a small chain, locking skewers and a u-lock. Don’t leave your bike overnight and try not leave it for hours on end.

I’ve been riding a landshark around sf for the last 8 years 5 days a week and I’ve had PLENTY of water bottles stolen but *knock on wood* the bike is still with me