HURRAH FOR USABLE BIKE RACKS! El Cerrito Natural Foods
What is an essential destination for daily living, a place that sustains basic metabolic life? A grocery store! How should you get there if you can't afford a car? You should be able to walk, take a bus, or ride a bicycle. El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company is accessible by all three modes.
It is a short walk for nearby residents of El Cerrito and the Richmond Annex—from El Cerrito, crosswalks on San Pablo Avenue deliver you to its front door; it is also on one of the busiest bus routes in the Bay Area—AC Transit’s 72 bus; and it welcomes bicycle riders with visible bicycle racks right near its front entrance.
Its inverted-U racks make it easy to lean and lock a bike without the bicycle tipping over. El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company is a role model for providing access to an essential destination for everyone, even if you're car-free. Good bicycle racks help make it so. Wouldn't it be great if every business was this accessible?!
So much better than those atrocious circular racks that are attractive but impossible to lock securely to!
ReplyDeleteCan you elaborate? Why are the circular racks more difficult to lock to?
DeleteThe are more difficult if you're trying to get a u-lock through a circular wheel and bike frame's diagonal down-tube and then having to contend with whatever different angle is presented by the portion of the circle that's at the same height. I usually find that the rack (tangent of circle) is sufficiently angled at this point that it become very difficult to get the lock around all three. Given the choice I typically lock up to a sign post instead.
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