It’s hard to imagine why anyone would straight up abandon a perfectly good bike. 

Across Chicago, you can see these orphans shackled to signposts or bike racks, unclaimed for months, sometimes years at a time. Eventually, scavengers pick off the parts and these bikes turn into a pile of broken-down rust. 

Curious City questioner Aaron Dozeman sees orphaned bikes all the time while he runs along the city’s lakefront. He wants to know: What happens to abandoned bikes and bike parts that are locked to racks and signposts throughout the city?

After digging into this a while, there are two takeaways. On the bummer note: Many of the bikes end up disappearing from the streets of Chicago, like lost souls wandering through bike purgatory. 

But there is a brighter side: Ultimately, some of these bikes find a permanent home, sometimes helping a worthy cause. 

The city’s first look 

Aaron had a hunch the city helps take care of these neglected bikes, and he’s right. You can call 311, or the Chicago Department of Transportation has an open source map where anyone can report an abandoned bike. You enter the bike’s location, a short description and, if you want, a picture. 

Then Kathleen Murphy, CDOT’s bike parking program coordinator, checks out the claim and judges whether the bike fits the abandoned criteria: 

1. The bike is in bad shape and won’t operate
2. It hasn’t been moved in more than seven days and “bears physical [indications] of having been deserted.” 

Full Story:

https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/a-second-life-for-chicagos-...