Shopping

Shopping by bicycle is very common in the Netherlands. Of course there is a limit to the number and size of articles that can be carried along - as a result of which many cyclists occasionally use a car. But many shopping trips do not involve large amounts of articles. The importance of the extensive bicycle use for shopping trips is widely recognised. By retailers themselves as well: the more people use a bicycle over short distances, the more parking space will be available to visitors from farther afield: Retailers realise importance of cycling to shops. It is also clear that cyclists are in general as valuable customers as are motorists: they spend less per visit (luggage) but visit more often: Shops and mode of transport and Shopping flows in Groningen town centre (Koopstromen binnenstad Groningen). At the same time, however, large numbers of cyclists and bicycles, however welcome, often create problems as well, particularly in old, narrow town centres. Parked bicycles are a problem - and everywhere attempts are made to entice or force cyclists to park in parking facilities at the edge of the town centre, by now often free of charge: Bicycle parking policies in town centres. Bicycles in motion also often generate problems in narrow shopping streets. But this is a problem often solved by self-regulation: if it is too busy, when cyclists become mired in the crowd, they won’t cycle there: When can cyclists and pedestrians no longer mix?