D&H Drugstore
To the owners of D&H Drugstore, the health of their customers is their number one priority. They know that besides good medical care, physical activity is something that can improve the health of anyone. In the past D&H has supported PedNet and the Walking School Bus through various donations, but now they are encouraging active transportation in a very visual way. Recently the Broadway location gave up a parking space to have a bike rack installed in their parking lot.
Pharmacist Triston Brownfield, one of the four D&H owners, said they were happy to have the opportunity to have the rack installed. “We have a lot of people who live in that area and ride a bike to the Broadway location. I noticed people parking bikes on the sidewalk or at the mailbox, this gives them a safer place to park.” Brownfield anticipates that a lot of people will use the bike racks when the weather warms up. “The rack is very visible and we hope it encourages others to ride their bikes.”
To get the rack, D&H took part in a GetAbout Columbia program that gives businesses free bike racks. “We were getting ready to redo the parking lot so figured it was a good time to add the bike rack,” said Brownfield. “We heard about the city program and found that it worked well for us. It was a good deal.” Corri Flaker manages the bike rack program for GetAbout Columbia. She said that the racks are paid for out of the $22 million dollar Federal Highways Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program that the city was awarded in 2006. “The racks are free to the businesses, but they have to pay for installation,” Flaker explained. She said that 15 businesses have taken advantage of the program and that some have received more than one. Overall 35 free bike racks are in use now.
When asked if the D&H Paris Road location will get a bike rack as well, Brownfield said they would like to see one there in the future, but that it is a different situation. “We share the parking lot with other businesses there, but we are looking at a long range plan to get that done in the future.”
If your business is interested in having a bike rack installed, contact Corri Flaker at (573) 442-7189 ext. 22.
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