Bike Locks Cut at Millenium Park by Management Last Night

If you are going to a concert or event, please be careful. Apparently there is a warning on their website but no notice at the site - they cut locks off bikes during the concert last night.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 26, 2016 at 8:19am

The operations manager jumped on the FB Chainlink post, commented (saying he was afraid he'd be flamed) to tell us their policy is to cut all locks with bikes locked up to trees and temporary structures like the temporary metal barricades. They bring the bikes to the office. 

Sadly, when I went to ask him some questions, he had already deleted his comment and disappeared. I asked why there weren't signs warning people. 

Here are my concerns about this policy (if I had a chance to direct them to the manager):

Dear Bob Reinard Manager of Operations at Millennium Park,

1. Not adequate infrastructure for locking bikes. If you look in the photo, it's clear the racks are maxed out so people moved over to use the barriers. Destroying locks and removing bikes because you don't have adequate infrastructure to handle the capacity is NOT ok. Find a better plan that doesn't involve destroying people's property worth $50-100+ to replace e.g. valet bike parking, more racks. Locks aren't cheap and you could damage the bike in the process of cutting the locks off. 

2. Where is the signage? Why didn't you warn people? No one is going to think to check your website for rules about locking bikes. That's not communication.

3. If you are going to do something awful like this, maybe instead of deleting your comment, stick around long enough to listen and answer questions. If you felt a need to flee, maybe this is a reflection of the fact that what you did to people's property wasn't cool. Act on this feedback after acknowledging this is not a good practice, offer an apology (and money for a replacement U-lock).  

4. The bike parking in the area doesn't have hours that work with weekend concerts. Build adequate infrastructure to support the number of people that ride their bikes to the popular concerts, not just the sleepy concerts.

Permalink Reply by Gage B. on August 26, 2016 at 9:20am

What a bunch of losers. This is vandalism. Maybe I should take a power grinder to millennium park and grind up anything I find unacceptable. Oh wait, I would be arrested for that.

Permalink Reply by Gage B. on August 26, 2016 at 9:39am

But I would make it ok by first posting my policy up on a website first about how I retain the right to vandalize!

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 26, 2016 at 9:45am

Ok, so I just searched and dug through to try to find it on the website. It doesn't exist. This is all they tell you:

Parking Garages and Bicycle Parking

Convenient parking is located in the Millennium Park Garage, Grant Park North, Grant Park South and East Monroe Garages. For more information or directions for any of these parking garages, visit www.millenniumgarages.com or call 312.616.0600.

Parking is available for bicycles in the McDonald’s Cycle Center, a state of the art facility located in the northeast corner of Millennium Park. For information, visit chicagobikestation.comor call 888-BIKE-WAY (888.245.3929). Bike racks are also located on the concrete pad on the east side of the Pritzker Pavilion, as well as along Michigan Avenue and upper Randolph Street.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium...

Permalink Reply by Gage B. on August 26, 2016 at 10:17am

So what gives them a right to vandalize someone else's property? They have no more right than I do to vandalize anything in Millennium Park.

Permalink Reply by V W on August 26, 2016 at 6:32pm
Not sure what your bike being blocked in has to do with it being ok to destroy the locks of the bikes that weren't blocking you in... Those seem like separate issues.

The lack of readily observable bike parking should be a more pressing issue than keeping their badly located barriers freed up. If they don't want people locking up their bikes to the barriers they're in the best position to clearly communicate that. Which they obviously didn't do.
Permalink Reply by V W on August 26, 2016 at 9:03am
Awful short-sighted horribly implemented policy!

They need to accommodate cyclists not treat us like a nuisance.

Now I'm glad I opted to walk to movies in the park the other day, I was going to bike but it was only a few blocks from where I was locked up.
Permalink Reply by Mark on August 26, 2016 at 10:18am

Also, there is no longer public bike parking inside McDonald's Cycle Center.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 26, 2016 at 10:19am

What do you mean by no public bike parking? Do they only have monthly renters now?

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on August 26, 2016 at 1:02pm

I used to use that all the time.  It was great.  But I think they stopped opening to the public at least 5 years ago.

Permalink Reply by Sydney Barton on August 27, 2016 at 2:33am

Their website says day passes are available. 

http://bikeandpark.com/city/chicago/become-a-member

Day pass bikes must be removed by end of staffed business day. 10PM on Weekends, 8PM on weekdays so not good for concerts anyway.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on August 27, 2016 at 8:07am

If you mean the outside bike racks that's not true. I went to see Purple Rain on Wed night and there were plenty of open spaces. In fact I went out after the film and came back at 11:30 when they were cleaning the park and the guards were very cool about it. There's lots of good parking at Millenium..you need to know where to find it!

I do agree as others have written that the Millenium folks handled this poorly. Should have had a no parking sign on the barriers.  Cutting the bikes seems rather drastic.

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