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Yesterday The Pitch weekly news out of Kansas City had an article titled Two-Wheeled Discrimination about a well-to-do grandmother from Leawood that wanted to ride her
bike to go shopping but found there we no accommodations for bicycles at all. She even called the shopping center for assistance with finding bike parking just in case she had missed it but they couldn’t give her any recommendations.
This is a sad story for a number of reasons. Missouri does not have any laws that require bicycle parking like a lot other states. Missouri businesses are simply not concerned with the One-Million plus cyclists in the state or maybe they don’t know they should be.
I think lack of awareness is the primary reason for business owners not accommodating cyclists. If business owners and local governments were familiar with our concerns eventually they would accommodate us. The Tour of Missouri has raised cycling in Missouri to a new level and more and more people are becoming aware of the number of cycling enthusiasts as was evident by the large crowds that attended the races.
The old adage, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is exactly true in this case. As consumers and cyclists we must make our selves heard and do it often. If there is a store you frequent call the owner or manager and ask about bicycle parking. One thing I have learned in sales is try and make contact with someone as high in the company as possible because the receptionist, teller, or checker cannot make any decisions and usually doesn’t have enough pull in the company to make your issue reach the top.
Everyone should also write a letter to the editor of their local news paper or write letters to the local governments to voice their concerns. If you have a busy area with limited parking make sure you point out how bicycles ease congestion and parking issues. Point out that a small bike rack can usually accommodate 4 or 5 bikes. That’s 4 or 5 cars not on the road or taking up parking spaces. In some cities they are installing on street bicycle parking in single parking spaces in busy areas. A single car parking space can hold at least 15 bikes, sometimes more. That’s a lot of parking for a few hundred dollars.
Having bicycle parking also indicates a growing and evolving community. That is a good thing. That attracts businesses and people to move there. That encourages more growth. That all comes around to make a better community with healthier, happier people.
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