…but can we get a real one next time?

HEY LOOK, FREE BIKE! Sans front wheel, of course.

When my neighborhood Randall’s grocery store was “refreshed” or whatever you wanna call it (the store at Ben White & Manchaca if you’re wondering), they were kind enough to install this row of “bicycle racks” on the side of the building. Bike rack goes in quotes in this story because these are not a real place to lock up your bike, but something more just put there to make the place feel more “hip,” “urban” and “green” and to make the store’s owners feel good about themselves as they hum on down the road in their Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. After all, they also added a Starbuck’s…

Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone who has ever tried to lock a bike up securely before tested them before they were installed. As a result, these racks are completely useless.

Here is SOME of what’s wrong with this installation:

• The biggest problem of course is that these racks are SERIOUSLY low to the ground. They won’t even hold up a bike that doesn’t have a kickstand.
• You can only lock your front wheel to the rack if you have a U-Lock, which is what most people have to lock up their bike with (unless they’re just using a thin metal cable in which case their bike won’t last long no matter what it’s locked to).
• A bicycle with only its front wheel locked is a free bicycle, because it’s incredibly easy to take most modern bikes’ front wheels off, as they have quick-release latches. Even if they don’t, all it takes is a couple of seconds with a wrench and voila, thanks for the bike, Randall’s!
• The actual metal that the rack is made of is nearly as thin as my spokes, making me wonder if it would do any good at all. I might be able to cut through these things with a pair of handheld wire cutters – not even the really large kind.
• As you can see in the photo to the right, the location for this bike rack is incredibly sub-par. This rack is located in the darkest, most unseen corner on the east side of the store. This is pretty much a place where nobody will be looking as your bike is stolen. The windows you see in the photo don’t help either as you can’t actually see through them. On the inside of the store, displays and other objects obscure your entire view of this rack. Useless. Visibility is key, people! This is someone’s transportation here.

While I do shop at this store, I never park on this rack. I always just park right at the cart return – just like i did before the store was refreshed. At least there I have a nice tall multi-point location with thick horizontal bars to lock up to. Bummer.

Why didn’t Randall’s just get some racks from the city? Who knows.

While we did have some complaints and concerns about security and ease of parking about the art racks story yesterday, what’s key there is that the Downtown Austin Alliance is proactively talking to cyclists about the project and taking feedback to improve all the installations, make them beautiful and quirky yes but also functional.

At my neighborhood Randall’s we’ve been given a fake “greenwashing” type solution that is none of the above.