Bicycle advocacy in action – “Operation Soft Serve”

Source: clipartof.com

No, this is not an effort to slow down the speed of tennis serves at Wimbledon. Actually, it is a program recently initiated by the Mid-Michigan Active Transportation Coalition (MMATC) – now the Advocacy Committee of the Tri-County Bicycle Association to coax area ice cream shops to provide bicycle parking and outdoor seating areas for their numerous two-wheeled customers.

Anyone who regularly rides their bicycle for recreation or commuting purposes knows that ice cream shops are one of the most popular places to stop for a break, particularly during warm weather. Sadly, precious few ice cream shops in Greater Lansing have on-site bicycle parking for their customers. As a result you see bikes chained to trees, signs, fence posts, and about anything else that will not move. Similarly, not all ice cream shops have outdoor seating, though far more do provide this feature than bicycle parking.

Ice cream cone bike racks – Source: chinawoodsstore.com

Since the warm spell back in March, members have been contacting area ice cream shops via email, Facebook, and in person to ask them to please consider adding these conveniences. While the initial responses have been fairly positive, I am not aware of new bike racks being installed to date. I will keep you updated as successes occur.

The MMATC/TCBA Advocacy Committee will keep pursuing its effort to demonstrate the benefits of providing bicycle parking at area ice cream shops. Once that campaign has been deemed to be successful, we will designate our next operation to enhance placemaking, improve mobility, and increase bicycle usage in Greater Lansing.