Writing about cities
I’m two for two on writing letters and getting the results I intended to see.
First, there was getting the bike rack at Dominick’s in Bridgeport.
Then there was getting parking spaces removed so a pinch point in the Halsted Street bike lane at 15th Street was less “pinchy.”
Now I’m trying to get the United States Postal Service to stop parking and driving in bike lanes, especially the Kinzie Street protected bike lane.
I mailed out letters to six recipients on Wednesday.
Groupon mentioned on its blog that 126 employees rode to their Chicago office Monday.
Since the city has a goal of having 5% of trips under 5 miles by bicycle*, how do we ensure those same 126 employees ride their bike next week? Or tomorrow even!
With more of this:
A protected bike lane on Kinzie Street. These have been shown to reduce the number of crashes as well as slow down car traffic.
And some of this:
A family riding their bikes on Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, New York City. This bikeway is unique because it has both directions and is protected from traffic by parked cars. Photo by Elizabeth Press.
We’ll also need some left turn bays for bicyclists:
This will help cyclists make safer left turns across intersections. As seen in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Then we’ll see this:
Happy people riding together in our neighborhoods. With lights at night, for sure.
Oh, we’ll probably need additional bike parking, like this station at Amsterdam Zuid station (think Chicago’s Union Station or New York City’s Penn Station):
Free, underground, double-decker bike parking.
*We’re probably somewhere between 0.5% and 1.5% (of trips under 5 miles by bike). No data’s actually available on this; not for the baseline year of 2006 and most likely will not be available for the goal year, 2015.
I just got off the phone from a vice president at Dominick’s who personally informed me that the company will be installing a bike rack in the sheltered alcove of their grocery store at 3145 S Ashland, in Bridgeport, Chicago. He was unsure of the bike rack type, but was confident that it was the wave rack type they installed at the Lincoln Square store (I approve).
Bike parking at new, LEED-certified Dominick’s in Lincoln Square, Chicago.
Hard work pays off. I emailed and mailed the CEO of Safeway, Steve Burd*, after my letter to the store’s manager and call to customer service fell on, not dear ears, but unmotivated ones. Read the complete backstory.
He admitted the company failed to install a rack during the 2008-2009 renovation – possibly due to budgetary concerns. Which is really funny because the bike racks I know of cost about $300. And it doesn’t need annual maintenance.
Anyway, he said the installation target date is November 5, 2010!
*Mr. Burd’s email is either sburd@safeway.com, or steve.burd@safeway.com. One of them bounced, and now I can’t recall which.
Blair Kamin, the Chicago Tribune’s architecture critic wrote about the new LEED-certified Dominick’s* (Safeway) grocery store in Lincoln Square at Lincoln and Berwyn. This store features copious bike parking of a decent quality and design (see photo below).
In February 2009, I wrote a letter to the General Manager at their 3145 S Ashland store (read my letter). Someone at the company promptly made a request to the City of Chicago in March 2009 for a bike rack. The request was denied because the store is too far away from the nearest public right-of-way.
The following is my letter to Blair Kamin, John Hilkevitch (Tribune transportation writer), and the CEO of Safeway, Steve Burd.
Dear Blair,
I would like your help in getting better accommodations for bike riders at a local Dominick’s.
I read your article about the new, LEED-certified Dominick’s in Lincoln Square with copious bike parking available. (This should help with the potential auto parking issues you identified by encouraging people to bike to the store.)
The Dominick’s nearest me, at 3145 S Ashland, underwent major renovation in 2008 and 2009. People who ride their bicycles to the store (myself included) locked them to the shopping cart guard rails that were removed during renovation.
Bike parking was not included in this renovation.
LEED certification shouldn’t be the only impetus for installing bike parking. Currently it only gains the development 1 point and more than 40 are needed (more for Bronze, Gold, Silver, or Platinum). Installing bike parking should be an economic decision.
A single bike rack (holding two bikes) will cost less than $300 and require no maintenance for at least 5 years (some bike racks installed by the City are over 10 years old and look/work fine). A car parking space costs $1,000 per year to maintain.
We currently lock to garbage bins in a sheltered area near the store entrance. I ask that Dominick’s install real bike parking here in 2010. If they do, I’ll then ask them to work on the bike parking situations at their other stores (like the store at 1340 S Canal).
Thank you for your attention to bicycle infrastructure matters in Chicago.
Steven Vance
http://www.stevevance.netP.S. The Dominick’s at 3145 S Ashland also has the unfortunate situation of being in a strip mall far away from any public roads. This precludes the City from installing bike racks; the nearest public space is more than 50 feet away.
Jewel…you’re up next!
The bike parking area at the new Dominick’s grocery store in Lincoln Square. Sure beats locking to a garbage bin at the Dominick’s at 3145 S Ashland in Bridgeport. That store underwent renovation in 2008 and 2009.
What bike parking at 3145 S Ashland looks like.
*The store is not yet LEED certified. Blair reports it’s expected to receive a Silver rating.