As Bike Use Rises, So Do Retail Sales in Thriving Market
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
As bike use rises, so do retail sales in thriving market By Steve Frothingham n Vancouver, bike shops are like coee shops: ere’s one on every corner.” ‘ISo said Vancouver retailing veteran Michael eil, owner of the three-store chain Bicycle Sports Pacic. His comment was validated as the BRAIN Vancouver Dealer Tour pedaled from shop to shop around the city over three days in June. Sometimes we didn’t need our bikes: We could walk a few steps between shops. Despite the retail density, most shops appeared to be thriving; many owners and managers reported that their biggest challenge was oen getting and keeping employees in the booming economy (see related story on page DT2). e health of bike retailing in the third-largest metro area in Canada stems from several factors, but most notably from a massive investment in bike in- frastructure by the city, nearby municipalities and the provincial government over the past six years or so (see related story on pages DT2-3). e fast-growing popu- lation, dominated by folks who value healthy outdoor lifestyles, is largely in full support of the investment. Bike use is up, and so are bike sales. Vancouver’s North Shore, and other nearby rid- ing destinations like Squamish and Whistler, are re- nowned for their hard-core mountain biking, and re- tailers near those hot spots continue to sell big-dollar mid- and longer-travel bikes and related gear. We visited some of those shops in North Vancouver, near the North Shore riding area, on our second day (see related story on page DT3). But in the city, the market has been revitalized by sales of more utilitarian bikes for commuting, transportation and family riding. While there are retailers that specialize in trendy upper-end city bikes, like Denman Bike Shop, much of the market revolves around less-expensive but very practical machines. at’s because many residents take a utilitarian approach to their biking. With some of the most expensive housing in Canada, few can aord a car, or a place to park it. Bikes just make sense. “In Vancouver, your rst car is a bike. And your second car is … another bike,” quipped Josh Williams, owner of Kissing Crows Cyclery, a shop we visited on the third day of our tour. e expensive real estate market also keeps shop Photo by Gary Newkirk by Photo sizes to a minimum — there are few destination stores in the city, although there are some in the fast- growing outlying communities like Surrey. Vancou- ver lacks a major expressway through or around the city — that’s good news for the biking community — and the city has distinct neighborhoods oen sepa- rated by waterways. It’s relatively hard to get around even if you have a car, so Vancouverites like their bike shops small and nearby, because they will likely be riding to the store. ONLINE VIDEO: Dealer Tour participants and retailers share their impressions of Vancouver’s booming bike market and cycling infrastructure: http://bit.ly/Jh er. DT Vancouver in the fast lane on expanding infrastructure By Toby Hill working to expand Vancouver’s cycling infrastructure. oon aer being elected in 2008, May- Founded in 1998, Hub (formerly Sor Gregor Robertson set a goal for the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition) Vancouver to become the greenest city works to improve cycling conditions by in the world by 2020. at included get- consulting not only with Vancouver’s ting people out of cars and making the city government, but 20 other munici- majority of trips in the city by foot, bi- palities in the metro region. It also works cycle or public transit by the same date. with regional transportation authority Seems that 2020 arrived a bit early: TransLink, which oversees public tran- Recent panel survey data showed that sit and infrastructure outside of cities’ Vancouverites are making 50 percent of jurisdictions, as well as the provincial their daily trips by walk/bike/transit, ac- government, which is responsible for cording to Dale Bracewell, manager of highways, bridges and some pieces of in- the Active Transportation branch in the frastructure that connect to those. city’s Engineering Department. Early cycling infrastructure in Van- “So we’re ve years ahead of where couver included residential bike routes we thought we’d need to be. And speci- paralleling arterial streets where cyclists cally for cycling, we’re at 100,000 people were not separated from motor trac, biking a day. In 2008, we were at 50,000 but bike symbols were painted on roads people biking a day,” he said. and trac-calming measures were taken e surge in daily cycling is no doubt with a goal of holding speeds down to 30 fueled by Vancouver’s robust rollout of kilometers per hour. cycling infrastructure in recent years, in- “at allowed people to travel across cluding protected bike lanes downtown the city feeling fairly comfortable,” Hub’s and on key bridges feeding commuters O’Melinn said. “en once this current into the city’s core. council came in [in 2008], they real- Erin O’Melinn, executive director of ized they had reached a plateau, and Vancouver metro area advocacy group that in order to get more people bik- Hub Cycling, said the two protected ing they needed to access destinations lanes downtown on Hornby and Dun- with the most people, and that was job smuir Streets — separated from motor centers downtown in particular. Most The protected bike lane on Hornby Street in downtown Vancouver is separated from vehicle traffic by concrete medians, planters, bicycle corrals and car parking lanes. trac by concrete medians, planters, people did not feel comfortable riding bicycle parking corrals and vehicle park- downtown even where there were some ing lanes — have been a major boon to painted lanes. So they really took a lot of Gauthier, and the association has mod- the city’s current capital plan calls for fur- cycling in the city. political capital and put it toward this. erated its stance on the downtown lanes. ther improvements on the spans and some “ey were not an easy win, but “ere was a lot of resistance from “At the end of the day, our change of of their corresponding intersections. they’ve made a huge dierence. It allows the general public as well as business, position is that it’s part of our ve-year “If we can really improve the abil- people to access a lot of workplaces and a and we helped support the ‘yes’ side,” she strategic plan for 2012-2017 that we ity to cross False Creek and connect the lot of destinations, shopping and attrac- added. want to ensure downtown is accessible other side of False Creek [from down- tions feeling very safe,” she said. One of the most vocal opponents of by all modes of transportation. And if town] — our Broadway corridor, which Overall, the city now boasts a 270- the separated lanes was the Downtown the separated lanes increase the ability of is our second-highest employment dis- kilometer network of bikeways and Vancouver Business Improvement As- people of all ages and abilities to get into trict in the province other than our own greenways. And with the support of both sociation, whose members were largely downtown, then I think we can check downtown — and make those active a cycling-friendly City Council major- concerned about the loss of on-street that box o in terms of making down- transportation links work, we’re cover- ity and mayor who were just re-elected parking. But parking has not been an town accessible for most,” Gauthier said. ing all our bases to grow our downtown to their third consecutive terms in No- issue as the city has made alternative Protected cycling lanes added to bridg- metro core and Broadway area,” said vember 2014, advocates and transpor- parking available on nearby streets, said es crossing False Creek have made getting Bracewell, the city’s active transporta- tation planners are nowhere near done DVBIA president and CEO Charles into downtown far less intimidating, and tion manager. A WRENCHING PROBLEM Fierce demand for mechanics highlights need for training programs. By Toby Hill chanic programs in the past, but some- Retailers Association (CIBRA) is looking times found them lacking essential skills at to model its own nationwide training f there was a common refrain among and experience. “We’d hire them, and they program. Ialmost every shop owner visited on were needing a lot more time before they “Where I suppose the problem is, is the Vancouver Dealer Tour, it was that were reliable and we could just let them rate of pay. It’s hard to have a dedicated reliable mechanics are extremely hard to work on bikes,” he said. “It’s a nice idea, career in something that doesn’t pay well,” nd, and even more dicult to keep long and with an in-depth enough training said Obsession: Bikes owner James Wil- term in such a competitive retail market. program it would work. But you would son, who is leading CIBRA’s committee And without any formal training pro- have to go through dierent levels like I researching mechanic training. “A person grams or certications oered through know they do in Europe in programs like who could be a great mechanic might be Reckless Bikes puts out the call for trade or professional associations in Can- Cytech.” interested in being an electrician, plumb- new mechanics. Owner Paul Dragan ada, shops are largely le to develop their e U.K. industry’s training and ac- er, tradesman or auto mechanic.