The Chainlink

CTA took my bike, and I almost didn’t find out. Help me change this for others.

Hey all,

I’m hoping someone with advocacy experience can help with this.


I recently locked my bike to a bus stop pole in front of the Fullerton el station. When I returned the following night, the bike was gone— and my U-bolt sat on the ground, sawed in two.


I reported the theft to the police and to my insurance agency. To be fair, when I returned to the bus stop that night, I saw a sign, a few inches down from the CTA route sign, that I had never seen before (and I had passed by the stop many times): it warned that bikes locked to the pole could be removed.


I e-mailed CTA customer service to ask if it was possible that one of their employees took it. And if so, if it was normal practice to take a bike without leaving a notice.


I asked, too, whether— if that was the case— the CTA recorded the serial numbers of the bikes it took.


An agent quickly wrote back to apologize for the inconvenience, adding, “On occasion, we have bicycles abandoned at racks at CTA stations; we post a note on the rack to give the owner time to claim the bike. However, if no note was ever posted as a warning, then we will forward this information to the responsible General Manager for corrective action.”


I later came across a Web page that said that if a bike were taken quickly, without any warning, it was probably a thief, and not the transit agency.


That was that, I figured; if the CTA had my bike, the serial number would get cross-referenced with the police report, and I’d be notified. 


I bought a new bike, along with the accessories I had lost. Yet I couldn’t get over how someone could saw through a U-bolt lock in front of a 24-hour station with a  security guard— and on a busy thoroughfare, no less.


I did some more searching on the Web and found this on the CTA’s site: “Cyclists are prohibited from securing bicycles to handrails, railings, doors, ramps and stairways, or in any way blocking access to and from stations. Bicycles in violation of these regulations and/or creating a public safety hazard will be tagged and removed without notice. CTA will store these bicycles for 30 days. When in doubt, cyclists should ask CTA Station personnel.”


I went back to the station and asked the agent on duty if it could have been the CTA. Oh, yeah, he said; you shouldn’t lock up your bike to a bus stop pole. (Thanks.)


The Web page also mentioned that cyclists could call a toll-free number or e-mail the Bike and Ride Program Manager directly. So, I e-mailed the program manager, asking if the transit agency catalogued the serial numbers of the bikes they took— and whether they reported them to the police, or to the National Bike Registry.


I never heard back.


I decided to go out to the garage on the West Side where removed bikes are stored. It had taken some doing to find the address online— 3920 W. Maypole Ave., just off Pulaski Rd— but I eventually reached the garage.


They had my bike, and I got it back.


Back to why I’m posting this: I want to petition the CTA, in a respectful way, to start cataloging the serial numbers of bikes it removes. It seems only fair that a police report get cross-referenced with the inventory of a government agency. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else.


Can anyone help?


Even with ideas of an advocacy group that could offer assistance?

Views: 1290

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on October 15, 2010 at 5:35pm
Howard, we understand your concerns and certainly we want to be helpful. We can take additional questions/suggestions to the CTA if we can get the folks on this thread to help us frame those questions.

CTA is obviously a slow-moving bureaucracy and we at Active Trans are willing to try and help make that connection to hopefully bring around improvements. Please understand that we (Active Trans) and CTA won't be able to "jump" on things as quickly as a forum like the Chainlink.

I think what happened is I scanned this thread early on and reached out to the CTA about a couple of issues. Discussion kept happening and when information got back here it was already not as relevant.

So, Chainlinkers, for this issue, what are the two to four questions we should go back to the CTA?

Thanks,
Ethan, with Active Trans
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 15, 2010 at 6:00pm
Thanks, here's mine, in descending priority:

1) How would a Chicago cyclist know not to lock to a CTA signpost?
How would a "victim" know CTA removed their bike?

2) Where exactly do bikes go when removed, how is that destination determined, and how does one know where to find one's bike within the CTA system? How does one know who to contact? What measures are in place to assure that these answers is common knowledge among CTA staff?

3) How are bikes kept secure while stored, and what happens to them after this nominal storage period?

4) What system of inventorying these bikes is in place, and would they be open to periodic volunteer assistance to help get bikes back to their owners? The assistance would consist of:
a) Allow periodic visit to storage area by bike theft task force volunteers to help identify owners
b) Allow volunteers to inventory and publicly post descriptions of the stored bikes
Permalink Reply by David on October 17, 2010 at 1:21am
I think Howard's (H3N3's) four questions are wonderful. They address the crux of my concern, which is how someone who a) didn't see a sign telling them not to lock their bike there; b) didn't see a note when they got back; c) has been told by the CTA that it probably wasn't them; and d) goes through the motions of filing a police report— WITH serial number— afterwards... is supposed to get his/her bike back.

To those who feel that inputting serial numbers at the garage requires too much time/effort from CTA employees, I hear your argument. I wouldn't say I entirely agree, but I hear you. I like Howard's suggestion of allowing volunteers to input the info. into whatever database(s).

The one thing I don't want to see happen to anyone else is for the person to file a police report and sit back and think that if the bike's been taken by the CTA, the police report will find a match. If the CTA isn't willing or able to catalog serial numbers, then, again, I think the second-best option is to allow volunteers to do so. (It works for the Working Bikes Cooperative.)
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 17, 2010 at 3:47am
Thanks, David.
I think the problem with serial numbers needs to be re-stated.
My credentials-- I started an online registry for people to report bike thefts, which, with the help of a great bunch of people has started to get people's bikes back to them with regularity this year; and, has also put me in the position of being sort of a collecting point and a contact point for issues relating to individual stolen bikes and the problem in general.
Through this process it's become painfully apparent that a large number, perhaps a majority of cyclists do not have their serial numbers recorded.
We are brainstorming and planning to work toward solutions to this problem, among others, but in the short term the serial number would probably be useful only as an adjunct to a general description of the bike along the following lines:
-Brand
-Model
-Color
-major accessories (rear rack, basket, kick-stand).
Through the above described process I've learned that people who are not seriously "into" cycling can have a very tough time estimating the size of a bike, so I'd forego even a general "small/medium/large" even though it would be useful.

One more note about serial numbers, based on problems encountered regularly-- having the focus on serial numbers sets up the probability that cyclists may not be given their bikes back without proof of serial number-- this would result in a lot of folks going through all these steps to locate their bike within the bowels of CTA, and ultimately be sent home without it for it to end up in the mysterious place that these bikes end up.



David K said:
I think Howard's (H3N3's) four questions are wonderful. They address the crux of my concern, which is how someone who a) didn't see a sign telling them not to lock their bike there; b) didn't see a note when they got back; c) has been told by the CTA that it probably wasn't them; and d) goes through the motions of filing a police report— WITH serial number— afterwards... is supposed to get his/her bike back.

To those who feel that inputting serial numbers at the garage requires too much time/effort from CTA employees, I hear your argument. I wouldn't say I entirely agree, but I hear you. I like Howard's suggestion of allowing volunteers to input the info. into whatever database(s).

The one thing I don't want to see happen to anyone else is for the person to file a police report and sit back and think that if the bike's been taken by the CTA, the police report will find a match. If the CTA isn't willing or able to catalog serial numbers, then, again, I think the second-best option is to allow volunteers to do so. (It works for the Working Bikes Cooperative.)
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on October 17, 2010 at 11:17am


Pablo said:
I don't want to be the bad guy here, but once in a while I see a bike parked in the bus stop at Chicago and Milwaukee right where they let people out of the Eastbound bus. The parked bike blocks exiting passengers when the bus can not pull up all the way. I would guess this policy is an attempt to solve this problem. When locking up just keep in mind the other users in our busy urban environment.

Yeah it's not blocking pedestrian traffic but in the way of a stop. I tend to look for one close by but don't use the actual CTA bus stop sign. The actual CTA racks they usually put a sign on and both the city and CTA are very slow in doing this so your bike will most likely still be there, Granville and Thorndale have had bike locked outside for at least 2 years.
Same thing goes with fences. Even if you lock it on the sidewalk the pedal,handlebar,lock... protrudes through the fence and technically it's then on someone private property.
Permalink Reply by Michele on October 27, 2010 at 5:52pm
Let's ask CTA to add a warning about locking bikes on CTA property on its webpage Bike & Ride: On the Train http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/how_to_guides/biketrain.aspx and its brochures on the topic.
Permalink Reply by David on October 27, 2010 at 10:34pm
I like your idea, Michele.

Michele Beaulieux said:
Let's ask CTA to add a warning about locking bikes on CTA property on its webpage Bike & Ride: On the Train http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/how_to_guides/biketrain.aspx and its brochures on the topic.
Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on October 28, 2010 at 5:51pm
Great, thanks everyone...we will take these questions to the CTA:

1) How would a Chicago cyclist know not to lock to a CTA signpost?
How would a "victim" know CTA removed their bike and that it wasn’t actually stolen? Could stickers on these poles let bicyclists know not to lock there?


2) Where exactly do bikes go when removed, how is that destination determined, and how does one know where to find one's bike within the CTA system? How does one know who to contact? What measures are in place to assure that these answers is common knowledge among CTA staff?


3) How are bikes kept secure while stored, and what happens to them after this nominal storage period?


4) What system of inventorying these bikes is in place, and would they be open to periodic volunteer assistance to help get bikes back to their owners? The assistance would consist of:

a. Allow periodic visit to storage area by bike theft task force volunteers to help identify owners

b. Allow volunteers to inventory and publicly post descriptions of the stored bikes

5) Could the CTA to add a warning about locking bikes on CTA property on its webpage Bike & Ride: On the Train http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/how_to_guides/biketrain.aspx and its brochures on the topic.

Thanks to Howard, David and Michelle for providing the basis here. We'll keep everyone posted on this and see what's possible.

Thanks much,
Ethan Spotts, Marketing & Communication Director
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 28, 2010 at 10:30pm
This is great, thank you.


Active Transportation Alliance said:
Great, thanks everyone...we will take these questions to the CTA:

1) How would a Chicago cyclist know not to lock to a CTA signpost?
How would a "victim" know CTA removed their bike and that it wasn’t actually stolen? Could stickers on these poles let bicyclists know not to lock there?


2) Where exactly do bikes go when removed, how is that destination determined, and how does one know where to find one's bike within the CTA system? How does one know who to contact? What measures are in place to assure that these answers is common knowledge among CTA staff?


3) How are bikes kept secure while stored, and what happens to them after this nominal storage period?


4) What system of inventorying these bikes is in place, and would they be open to periodic volunteer assistance to help get bikes back to their owners? The assistance would consist of:

a. Allow periodic visit to storage area by bike theft task force volunteers to help identify owners

b. Allow volunteers to inventory and publicly post descriptions of the stored bikes

5) Could the CTA to add a warning about locking bikes on CTA property on its webpage Bike & Ride: On the Train http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/how_to_guides/biketrain.aspx and its brochures on the topic.

Thanks to Howard, David and Michelle for providing the basis here. We'll keep everyone posted on this and see what's possible.

Thanks much,
Ethan Spotts, Marketing & Communication Director
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on October 29, 2010 at 10:08am
Sounds like a good plan! Thank you!

Active Transportation Alliance said:
Great, thanks everyone...we will take these questions to the CTA:

1) How would a Chicago cyclist know not to lock to a CTA signpost?
How would a "victim" know CTA removed their bike and that it wasn’t actually stolen? Could stickers on these poles let bicyclists know not to lock there?


2) Where exactly do bikes go when removed, how is that destination determined, and how does one know where to find one's bike within the CTA system? How does one know who to contact? What measures are in place to assure that these answers is common knowledge among CTA staff?


3) How are bikes kept secure while stored, and what happens to them after this nominal storage period?


4) What system of inventorying these bikes is in place, and would they be open to periodic volunteer assistance to help get bikes back to their owners? The assistance would consist of:

a. Allow periodic visit to storage area by bike theft task force volunteers to help identify owners

b. Allow volunteers to inventory and publicly post descriptions of the stored bikes

5) Could the CTA to add a warning about locking bikes on CTA property on its webpage Bike & Ride: On the Train http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/how_to_guides/biketrain.aspx and its brochures on the topic.

Thanks to Howard, David and Michelle for providing the basis here. We'll keep everyone posted on this and see what's possible.

Thanks much,
Ethan Spotts, Marketing & Communication Director
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on October 29, 2010 at 10:04pm


John Greenfield said:
Well, the City's bicycle ordinances explicitly state that it's
legal to lock bikes to sign poles, so this seems to be a conflict with CTA
policy - see below. I will consult the authorities on this.

John Greenfield

9-52-070 Parking - Permalink

No person shall park a bicycle upon a street other than upon the roadway against the curb or upon the sidewalk against a rack, parking meter or sign pole to support the bicycle or against a building or at the curb in such manner as to afford the least obstruction to pedestrian traffic.

Added Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18634; Amend Coun. J. 7-21-04, p. 28659, § 1

I'm glad someone pointed this out early on. This was my first thought.

I'm reminded of this ridiculous situation at the new North/Clybourn store where the CTA has installed 0 bike racks and then posts a sign saying, "Only lock to bike racks."
Full story and photos here.

Definition of irony
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on October 29, 2010 at 10:09pm


heather s said:
I have no real facts to base this on, so maybe I should just keep it to myself (but then what would the Internet even be for, right?). But I imagine you'd get farther either asking the CTA to hand the bikes over to the cops, who could then check it against their own records, or asking the CTA to put a sticker on the bus sign poles telling people not to lock there.

I don't think this is a good idea. The Police are no better at notifying others about property they have removed. When property is taken or received by the police, it is cataloged and receives an inventory number. Only with that special number will anyone at the Police department know anything about the property (AKA the bike).

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