By Dick Snyder
Tis the season to have your bike ripped off. So beware and be afraid. Toronto has been hailed as the bike theft capital of the world. And for good reason. Despite the fact that cycling has evolved from the realm of child’s play and training wheels into a major business; and the fact that commuter and recreational cyclists make up a huge segment of the tax-paying public in this city, cycling is still not taken seriously by the general public or the government at either the city or the metro levels.
This means that cyclists don’t get the level of support they deserve. Locking facilities on streets and in public places are still inadequate, both in terms of the protection they offer and in numbers. Here at Ryerson, cyclists are expected to use the main strip of railing along Jorgenson Hall which, as soon as the weather warms up as it has this week, quickly fills up with bikes. The pathetic bike rack located across from the main entrance is designed so only the wheels can be locked. And we all know hat means in today’s world if quick-release wheels: kiss your bike frame goodbye.
But locking facilities are only a small part of the problem. Bike thieves regularly cruise university campuses, where they find a veritable buffet of easy-access bike parts ripe for the picking. Nothing is too small for those bottom-feeding scum: bells, seats, lights, reflectors, seat wedges, clamps; whatever can be quickly unscrewed or clipped off a bike is fair game for these vultures. Some will cut your cables and take your handlebars. Just replacing the bars, brakes and shifters can run you $200 or more. Parts are sold to some of the less-than-scrupulous bike shops around town for far les than they’re worth. Remember: any time you frequent one of these shops (and let’s not kid ourselves, you know when you’re in one) you’re supporting the trade.
What we need here at Ryerson (and all over Toronto) is a concerted effort to discourage this kind of pilfering. The Jorgenson strip needs brighter lighting and more frequent patrols (both day and night) by officers who make the effort to watch for suspicious behaviour around the bike racks. Anyone armed with more than his or her fair share of tools and spare parts should be questioned.
Ryerson’s security says that reports of bike theft have decreased 50 per cent in the past two years. Well, the fact is that most cyclists know how useless it is to report these thefts, so it’s safe to say that while only 13 bikes were reported stolen in 1994, the actual number of thefts—not just of entire bikes but of parts as well—was much greater.
We need better deterrents for bike thieves. How about public lynchings? Or maybe just thumb screws for a first offence. Hmmmmm…..
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