Cycling UK Forum

over the last few years I've sent many emails to the local Lidls where I live (Poole, Dorset) as they have never had any bike racks.
I've had to chain my bike to the trolley park and risk getting it damaged.
Last year one of their replies was to say they would be refurbishing the store and would then include bike racks. They sent me a plan of the new store to be built and asked what i thought. The cycle racks they had planned had been put slap bang in the middle of the car park on a corner. I emailed back immediately to say that , although it was great that they were going to finally have cycle racks, that they were planning to put them in the worst possible place. I stated that any bike put there would be subject to getting damaged easily by cars turning the corner or reversing.
Wind forward another year and the store is finished and hey presto ! They have drastically improved the cycle racks, making them proper Sheffield stands with a weather cover.
Just goes to show that persistence pays off in the end. I also got a £20 voucher from them for my efforts.

Great result!

Well done that person!
Good result.

Don't shop at lidl but a recent new ALDI store near me has decent bike racks in the pedestrian path in front of the store in front. It's between parent& child parking places and the store. Right underneath the roof overhang that is covering the pedestrian path, so there's a chance of your bike staying dry.

Another much older store belonging to a regional supermarket chain with a very good reputation is next door. It has just two Sheffield racks stuck right round the corner where nobody really goes. You could take a petrol powered angle grinder to a lock or the stand and nobody would know it.

You have to be lucky you get good bike facilities at supermarkets. However the OP has been persistent and it's paid off for him. Well done indeed!

Spinners wrote:Great result!

+1

PDQ Mobile wrote:Well done that person!
Good result.

+ another + 1

I can only agree with Delers so +1 from me,
But on the only occasion I visited a Lidl on the bike there were bike racks.. ...but they were completely surrounded by railings so there was no access to them
I asked to see the manager who told me I wasn't the first to complain and that he'd informed head office some months previously but nothing had been done

Crikey. I wish County Councils would be as committed, and responsive as that in providing on road cycle facilities.

Yes, well done!

However, I seem to see bike racks at supermarkets a way away from the main entrance, so I tend to lock my bike up close to the doors in full view of everybody, and not just "lurkers" round the corner.

Tesco in Callington is a case in point, but Steetview doesn't go there into the carpark.

Lidl's in Tavistock have Sheffield Stands to one side. They're ok, but I wouldn't use them ............ and many other cyclists don't either.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.53703 ... 312!8i6656

You see more bikes up here chained to the railings in full view of the shop, and that's where I've chained mine as well.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.53711 ... 312!8i6656

Mick F wrote:Yes, well done!

However, I seem to see bike racks at supermarkets a way away from the main entrance, so I tend to lock my bike up close to the doors in full view of everybody, and not just "lurkers" round the corner.

Yes, location comes top of my list. My local Aldi has sheffield stands, in view behind the tills, I can see my bike pretty much all the time. Only downside is they keep blocking access with potted plants, snow shovels, garden furniture, barbecue kit...
My local Sainsbury is OK, out of sight but near the entrance, Morrisons couldn't be worse, round the side well out of sight.

All local authorities should have parking standards covering not only motor vehicle but cycle parking, both short and long term. These standards should be applied to all developments as a condition of planning permission. In the case of supermarkets the provisions should
relate to the floor area. The local authority should also specify the type and location of the parking. Sadly, in many cases the local authority, in spite of claiming to be cycling friendly, fails to make cycle parking a condition of planning permission or, even if it does, fails to make sure it is provided.

How many times on club runs do we find cafes, especially in garden centres and the like with more than enough space with no cycle parking at all but with acres given over to car parking?

Excellent result which shows that sometimes persistence pays off!
In Chester ,the local Cycle Campaign have a bi -annual survey of the Supermarkets & rate their facilities.
Morrisons have won it recently, but the standard of facilities has improved.
We are now looking at Doctors' surgeries, libraries etc.

Just thought it might be worth linking to this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=115569