Ramon Zavala, Chicken or the Egg?

On a recent bike advocates conference call Ramon introduced this argument, “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” as it relates to installing bike racks in business districts. I asked him to write up his thoughts to share here.

I always have so much to say about bike parking (!) as it’s all part of a greater bicycle security concept that includes explaining the differences between the different rack styles, placement, locking education, anti-bike-thief measures, and (eventually) the justification for bicycle registration.

Bicycle advocacy organizations rarely agree as to what exactly to do to get people on bikes except for one idea:

The best way to encourage people to ride bikes is to show people riding bikes.

For the business-minded, I like to modify that to read:

The best way to encourage bicyclists to spend money at your business is to show bikes parking at your business.

If you talk to business owners about bike parking though, they tend to recoil at the expense. Bike stands, after all, are not free. A common and secure post-and-loop stand costs over $120 (facilitating 2 bike parking spots) plus labor and sidewalk space.

Show me the bicyclists first and I’ll consider putting in bike racks.

What comes first — the chicken or the egg? The cyclists or the bike parking?

Well, the bicyclists are already here. You just can’t see the bikes because they have to park a block away, lock to a street sign, park on a tree, or they just don’t stop because there’s nowhere to park.

Just step out to the beach and you’ll see beach cruisers galore. Any weekend morning you can watch throngs of road cyclists pedaling over Newport Coast Drive or along Coast Highway. Then there are the everyday riders like myself that bike-commute to work and would like to ride to some destinations after work or on the weekend.

Want us to spend our money?
Give us ample, visible, and secure places to stop and lock up. Don’t put the racks around the corner. Bicyclists can’t lock up to racks they don’t know exist. Moreover, as a business owner, you want to display their bikes to all the other potential bikey patrons–

Hey! You over there on a bike! Come over here to park and eat! It’s safe and convenient!

There’s no more need for the “Chicken or Egg” argument. Bicyclists are here and they want to grab some tacos after work as well as ride to the store to pick up some eggs, bread, and flowers. They want to spend their money at your establishment. They just need a place to park. Provide the parking, watch it fill up, and watch more cyclists roll in.

Ramon G. Zavala is the Supervisor of Sustainable Transportation at UCIrvine’s Transportation & Distribution Services.