Query : Parking in malls : Experiences and concerns

[Shankar Shastry]

Was just wondering if anyone here has parked their bike in any mall in Namma Bengaluru and any safety/other concerns you had. 

I'm asking because and I took an auto :( to cunningham road and back to ulsoor (office) to watch a movie just to make sure that I was not worried about who will steal my bike or if I will get parking. 

And for those of you who will ask me now, I can get a good rapport with the security guys and even pay up for two wheeler parking (of course!). I'm asking for suggestions on type of locks and exact locations to park in each mall where you have parked & locked your bike and it was intact when you came back :D

Malls for which info required (in the order of preference)

Sigma Mall

Mantri square

Garuda Mall

Bangalore Central

For garuda and central i'd generally prefer parking in mayo hall where I know the handicap uncle who manages parking. Will try parking my mountain bike there  too. And then for MG road and Brigade road and around, there is that place on church street in front of amoeba where I can hide my dirty mtb amongst the roadsters. How safe are our kinda bikes there?

I'm also wondering if buying a simple singlespeed/fixie is a good idea for my commute since parking and locking will be less of a hassle without all the QR and shifters jhing jhang but that's for later, when I have already proved to myself that I wont fall prey to being lazy and driving the black beast of a car which is slower than my mtb on namma bengaluru roads.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for replying.

Mad motorist :P

[htedum]

Buying a single speed is a good idea, but an even better one is a
roadster. :)

I think BOTS maintains a page about parking. Search and ye shall find.
Too busy now to dig it up.

[Yogesh N. Rao]

Shankar, this question has gone back and forth so many times. Simple answer: No, there is no reliable parking available for bicycles in most malls. CM and GGI have campaigned forum mall several times. I think most of the folks here have given up on it. Heck, we are still trying to find decent parking at our work.

One of the proposed solutions was to get a cheaper bicycle for ride-park-shop type situations. Many argued that a loss is a loss, be it 2k or 15k

--
biking conversations on the world famous "Bangalore Bikers Club" :)
 
are you a part of the bicycle racing scene?
Visit www.bangalorebicyclechampionships.com for more details

[shan...@gmail.com]

I remember digging one of the threads too, and I guess I belong to the category who said loss is a loss. :). Wondering if any of us has had any practical experiences to share. This is owing to me making december a complete bike commute month (don't quote me if i get lazy n get back to driving :p). I'll try mayo hall and update this thread. Thankfully my office parking and security is super awesome! I'l talk to the mall manager at sigma when i go there next by car. Lets see if I get lucky. Others with any practical experience please show some love :) and share your experiences!

Regards,
Shankar
Sent from my Nokia N85

[shan...@gmail.com]

Oh dint know bots had a page. Thanks. Will dig :)
I don't deserve a singlespeed yet since I only have some 500km of commute under my belt. All depends on how I fare in december.

Regards,
Shankar
Sent from my Nokia N85
-----Original Message-----

--

[Anand]

What I do is find a 2 wheeler parking place closest where there is a sign board or something of that sort to which I can lock the cycle.

Warm Regards,
Anand

On Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 12:11 PM, Shankar Shastry <shan...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

[Johnny Jacob]

http://notebook.bumsonthesaddle.com/lists:parking - Probably needs to
be updated.

//Johnny

> --
> biking conversations on the world famous "Bangalore Bikers Club" :)
>
> are you a part of the bicycle racing scene?
> Visit www.bangalorebicyclechampionships.com for more details

--
[ http://about.me/johnnyjacob ] "May you share freely, never taking
more than you give "

[s1d]

Hi all,

I do have some experience in parking in some of the malls and would
like to share it here with everyone :

Forum Mall (Koramangala):
Found the security very friendly. The very first time I parked my bike
there (several months ago) they advised me about a good spot for
parking and I have been parking in the same spot ever since. Have
parked there for more than 6-7 times now, and even for the duration of
a night move show which got over post 12. The security guy knows me by
face now and always assures me he'll look after it and he's right on
his word as so far not discovered even a gear shift when I returned,
which is a common problem when parking in public place.
As for the spot, if you're on the Raheja Complex side, enter through
the way for 2 wheelers. Buy a ticket (Rs 10) and then as soon as you
enter the covered parking area on your left, between the first row of
2 wheelers and the wall, there is a 1ft drain with a fat pipe going
through it with enough space and depth to make your cycle stand erect.
And there is a fat metal railing on top of the wall with which you can
secure the cycle using a lock (I use two). I'll probably post pics
next time I park my bike there. The parking fee remains Rs 10 and does
not increase with time :)

Forum mall (Varthur):
Have parked there once.
Security was friendly, but there was no God damn pipe or railing to
secure the bike against. I was with a friend (both on bikes) and we
tried our luck to try and park it in the sports shop there (next to
Crosswords) which also keeps cycles. One security guy came with us and
took us through the service elevator which was large enough for both
bikes. But to our dismay the sports shop guys told us there was no
space inside the shop to leave the cycle. We were aghast that they
never thought about customers coming back and looking for a good place
to park their cycles. Idiots! Anyways, then we progressed down to the
area where mall employee cycles were parked. Nothing to secure
against, so we left and started to scout for a good area in the car
park. Finally found some huge wooden crates (8 ft tall) with some
equipment which the guard said were not going to be moved anytime
soon. We were able to secure the bikes against them with locks. Found
them as we left them. Duration - about 3 hours. No parking fee as far
as I remember.

Sigma mall (Cunningham Road):
Have parked there twice. They have a proper cycle rack for the
employees at the lowest level, which you can find on your left if you
keep going down after the entry. The bike can be easily secured
against the rack. But my bike kinda stood out among the other employee
cycles which were the usual Hero Jet etc. Duration - less than an hour
both times. No parking fee.

Reliance store (Cunningham Road):
Have parked there 3-4 times so far. The guards (at the exit gate) let
me secure it against a pipe right next to where they sit, and are
friendly and know me well by now. Duration - upto 2 hours. No parking
fee.

Crosswords (Residency Road):
Have parked there 2-3 times. Go left past Crossword and as soon as you
begin to descend, there is a grate in the wall against which the bike
can be secured. I think should also be able to secure against the
metal railing in front of Crossword. Duration - upto an hour. No
parking fee.

Mantri Square (Malleswaram):
Enquired about cycle parking from the security who said it was
available. But so far I have always ended up parking at Pedals n
Wheels which is on Sampige Road between 16th and 17th cross and find
it to be a much more preferable option.


Hope that was helpful!

-Sid

[Shankar Shastry]

Very helpful! This is more information than I asked for!!

Sigma mall has a dedicated cycle parking and I did not use it? Damn!

Many many thanks :).

This should be a sticky!

[htedum]

> This should be a sticky!

This isn't BZ. :) G-Groups doesn't has an option to sticky a thread,
does it?

My experience: I've parked in Garuda more than a couple of times -
dedicated employee bike parking, lots of cycles there, some nice old
Indian single-speeds as well. Use two locks and secure it. Had watched
a movie once, came back late and everything was fine.

Another thought that's been bouncing around in my head for a while -
maybe we could all pool in, take permission from the city and just
build and install cycle racks at strategic locations. Our helpful
Transport Commissioner will also be able to guide us. :) My tuppence.

[krishna kumar]

hi friends,

    Very long back my self also park my bicycle inside Garuda Shopping mall ground parking lot once & gone shopping & came back. i just pay what they charge for two wheelers.

   But next time i try to park there they don't allow me to park there. I tell the parking people that i pay for two motor cycle parking charges. but they don't allow to park there they tell that the parking only for motor vehicles if you want park your bikes just go outside the mall & park out there some where. i just come out from there and park my bike in my friend club some where little far from the Garuda mall.

  In my opinion every mall should have a compulsory  bicycling park. So that every bikers in Bangalore can go to mall with their bikes with out theft scare....


" BURN YOUR FAT NOT FUEL....!!! "

With Regards,
Krishna
+919611905879
+917795257227

[shan...@gmail.com]

I agree with both of you. We can start with writing to mall management and atleast tell them they can be a li'l more "green friendly mall" in the eyes of the media. What say people?

And krishna, try parking at mayo hall next time.

Regards,
Shankar
Sent from my Nokia N85
-----Original Message-----

From: krishna kumar
Sent: 02/12/2010 21:42:34
To: htedum
Cc: Bangalore Bikers Club

hi friends,

*" BURN YOUR FAT NOT FUEL....!!! "*

*With Regards,
Krishna
+919611905879
+917795257227 *

[Nilesh]

Hi,

This info. is really helpful. It must have been a tough Decision the
first time to leave your bicycle.

I will definitely try the Forum Mall Kormangla.

Thanks again for sharing.

:-)

[Shreelesh Kumar]

Forum Mall (Sunshine Parking Lot): I have parked there without paying
anything. It was a weekday though, cant say if they'll allow the same
on a weekened. Not a dedicated cycle parking space. Visible spot from
the security cabin. I was apprehensive about parking there without
securing it to anything else like a pole or a grill of some sort but
didn't have a choice. The fact that another Merida was also parked in
that spot was some reassurance.

Star Bazaar: Underground parking lot. I haven't parked here myself but
enquired with security if cycle is allowed and they told me I can park
it where the employees park their cycles.

[s1d]

Added pics for parking in Forum Mall, Koramangala on my blog :
http://blog.s1d.in/2010/12/02/bicycle-parking-in-bangalore/

-Sid