Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Len Krietz on September 4, 2013 at 11:54am

Yes it's "not cool".  Its also a selfish entitlement to assume that because there'e a fence in the front of a larger building that you can use it as a bike rack wether you are visiting or not.  BTW if the fence gets cut/broken it's your money thats going to fix it.  I own a building and if I found a bike locked to my fence I would:

1. check with my tenants to see who it belongs to and have them move it (they have been informed this is not acceptable].

2. If it doesn't belong to anyone in the building, the lock is cut and the bike removed to storage, note placed, and the owner can come and see me for retrieval. Lesson is the cost of a lock.

Might seem "severe" to some readers but it's my private property and I've seen fence damage do to bike theft.

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Permalink Reply by yai danche on September 4, 2013 at 12:40pm

if this happens a lot, request a bike rack! i would find it irritating if someone did that to my gate.  there's always a street sign somewhere. 

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Crossland on September 4, 2013 at 1:28pm

You make a good point Len. I honestly did not think of the damaged fence due to theft scenario. I said ornamental but the fence is substantial and no one has tried to steel a bike in the 10 years I lived here, but I would be angry if I had to weld a new bar or redo part of the fence. Maybe a sign.....

Len Krietz said:

Yes it's "not cool".  Its also a selfish entitlement to assume that because there'e a fence in the front of a larger building that you can use it as a bike rack wether you are visiting or not.  BTW if the fence gets cut/broken it's your money thats going to fix it......

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Permalink Reply by Z Maz on September 4, 2013 at 3:45pm

If you don't own a condo...you aren't gonna be thinking about these things...you aren't selfish.  I don't think this is even on the radar of most people when they lock up their bike.  They have know idea they are annoying.

You just don't know these things...for the most part.  You are thinking I need to lock my bike up...this is convenient...who is gonna care that I parked my bike here...its a fence. 

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Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on September 4, 2013 at 4:04pm

Less about convenience than necessity - street signs are totally unacceptable to lock to (plus can be really hard to find on residential streets), bike racks are nowhere, and none of the bigger apartment and condo buildings near me (Ravenswood area) provide places for non-residents to lock their bikes. I remember visiting then-bf and having to lock to a fence and hating everything about it, but they didn't allow non-resident bikes into the building, and didn't have a rack...

Walking a few blocks to a proper rack (assuming there is one that close) late at night might not seem like a big deal, but it is for me.  So I do see the annoyance/rudeness of bikes locked to fences, but I just don't see an alternative. 

Zachary Maslowski said:

If you don't own a condo...you aren't gonna be thinking about these things...you aren't selfish.  I don't think this is even on the radar of most people when they lock up their bike.  They have know idea they are annoying.

You just don't know these things...for the most part.  You are thinking I need to lock my bike up...this is convenient...who is gonna care that I parked my bike here...its a fence. 

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Permalink Reply by Bill Nedza on September 5, 2013 at 2:42am

Your fence is private property, so anyone locking their bike to it runs the risk of you (lawfully) removing it,

which would be crappy of you to do, but that's the law.  It's the same as if they locked up their bike with a cable lock to any place on your house -- private is private.  

That being said, I'd encourage you to say something to them such as "hello there, I just want you to know that I don't mind you locking your bike to my fence, but if you did it to someone else's fence you might not find them so nice, since it's private property an they can lawfully remove it -- I'm fine with it, but just wanted you to know an be careful" -- they'll appreciate that.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 5, 2013 at 3:08am

Exactly. In residential areas that lack bike racks (= most residential areas), a fence or tree is often the only thing to lock up to aside from street lights and sucker poles.  If you have a problem with people locking to your fence, please post a sign and request a bike rack from the city.  That's a great way to help solve a multiple problems.

Zachary Maslowski said:

If you don't own a condo...you aren't gonna be thinking about these things...you aren't selfish.  I don't think this is even on the radar of most people when they lock up their bike.  They have know idea they are annoying.

You just don't know these things...for the most part.  You are thinking I need to lock my bike up...this is convenient...who is gonna care that I parked my bike here...its a fence. 

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 5, 2013 at 3:18am

Exactly. Not every building has a bike room (and not every bike room is really secure). Some landlords don't allow bringing bikes into apartments.  When I lived in Rogers Park, I was fortunate to find a building where the landlord allowed me to bring my bike inside my apartment.  I've had plenty of friends in neighborhoods across the city who either had only a basement common area for their bike or no indoor space at all, and were forced to lock up on the street.

h' 1.0 said:

"Stupid" is a little strong considering not everyone has the luxury of taking a bike inside.

peter moormann said:

Leaving your bike outside is plain stupid.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 5, 2013 at 3:19am

However, if you take photos of lots of bikes locked up to fence and other places around your building, that can help make the argument that a rack is really needed.

h' 1.0 said:

I'm guessing you guys have never tried to get a bike rack installed in front of a residential building on a side street. There are not enough of them to go around at this point and this is going to be a very low priority.

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