Abandoned bikes are removed from racks, illegal spots

This semester, members of the Cornell campus community may have noticed that dilapidated, long-neglected and abandoned bicycles parked in bicycle racks around campus buildings have been removed.

The removal of these bicycles -- most now stored in the Barton Hall lost and found -- has been the result of the efforts of the Cornell Bike, Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Committee, the Grounds Department, the Office of Transportation Services and Cornell Police in response to complaints about abandoned bikes taking up needed rack space. The cleanup has targeted bikes readily identified as abandoned -- significantly rusted, inoperable, unregistered and left in one place for a long time.

Bicycles also were removed for safety violations and because they were locked to trees, signposts and fences; blocking pathways or building entrances; or impeding the care and maintenance of the university's grounds and buildings in violation of university rules and regulations.

Those who have missing bicycles, Cornell campus officials say, should contact the Barton Hall lost and found at 255-7197.

The Bike, Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Committee has developed a three-stage approach to the problem:

• Identify dilapidated and unusable bikes locked to racks in the academic areas of campus and remove them.

• Mark bikes that are unregistered or apparently abandoned in racks throughout campus with tags that explain why the bikes were tagged and what owners should do to eliminate future impoundment.

• Canvass the campus to impound bikes whose owners haven't responded to the tags.

Bicycles locked in racks in the residence hall areas will be tagged in the near future, officials say.

How can people avoid impoundment? Here are a few simple rules to follow:

• Register your bicycle for free at either the Office of Transportation and Mail Services, 116 Maple Ave., or at the Barton Hall lost and found.

• Lock your bike only -- and only your bike -- in bike racks or in designated bike rooms.

• Take care of your bike. New York state law requires bikes to have working brakes, and it requires that bikes ridden before sunrise or after sunset have working headlights, taillights and side reflectors.

• Don't use the academic building bike racks to store bikes for more than a day or so. If your bike is in a residence hall bike room or in an outside rack, make sure it is registered and locked securely.

For information on bicycle rules and regulations, contact the Office of Transportation Services at 255-4600 or the Cornell Police at 255-1111. For more on the Bike, Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Committee, call the committee's chair, Lois Chaplin, at 255-2498.