how to -- and not to -- place a bike rack

Businesses that provide bike racks for their customers immediately score big in my book. It is quite surprising how many plazas and shops do NOT have bike racks, so when I see one, I am happy.

BUT - like so many other things in life, bike rack placement is not as straightforward as it might first appear.

Cyclists, smokers, shoppers who need to dispose of their drink containers -- a shop owner wants to accommodate them all.

With this result: 

The photo shows my bike parked at our local thrift shop. They have a bike rack, yes. But notice that a cyclist has to lock up her bike between a garbage can and a smokers' bench, with ashcan handy. Most cyclists are not smokers and most of us do not arrive at our destination with coffee in a disposable cup. Usually all we want to do is keep our bike safe. Most don't really want to inhale whiffs of garbage and cigarette smoke while doing so!

And here's my bike parked at the bike rack of our local mall. Same thing. Garbage can right next to the bike rack. Yuck.

 

This is why the bike rack pictured above caught my eye as I rode past. First, it is a thing of beauty. Heavy wrought iron, with that sweet curlicue design. And the bench is conveniently placed between the bike rack and the garbage can. Now, I've never seen a bike parked here, but that's beside the point. This (a medical clinic on 9th Avenue) is a business that has done it right.