Toronto is often rated as one of the world's most livable cities, although many cyclists will challenge its 2015 designation as a "bicycle-friendly" community from Share The Road.
One thing that makes the city inhospitable is the same thing that casts a shadow over cycling in other places: theft. According to a recent report, only one percent of the bikes stolen in Toronto are ever recovered.
I would suspect that New York and other cities have similarly minuscule recovery rates. I also imagine that, like the people mentioned in a story I encountered, cyclists who get their bikes back are more likely to have done so through their own efforts than with any help from the police.
In August, someone broke into the locker if Joshua Henderson's condo on the Bay Street Corridor and took his BMC racing bike. He soon located it in a Kijiji listing: He knew the bike was his and the person who listed it was the thief because the photos in the listing were taken in the locker.
So, Henderson set up a meeting and asked the police to accompany him. An officer told him to postpone the meeting, and he did. But when he couldn't contact the investigator the following day, he decided to go on his own. He filmed the encounter, including the part where the thief fled when Henderson announced that the bike is his and the police were on the way.
In a way, this story has a not-unhappy ending: Henderson gave police the video and details of the transaction, both of which they credit for helping them catch the thief, who was wanted in other breaking-and-entering cases. Even after all of that, Henderson says he still feels "anxious" riding his bike.
On the other hand, Corrine Dimnik and her husband are anxious about getting new bikes. Their Cannondale racing bikes were taken from their condo's underground parking garage in May. Like Henderson, they saw their bikes listed on Kijiji.
Dimnik says she contacted the seller and scheduled a meeting in front of two uniformed police officers who were taking her statement. But the officers told her she'd have to reschedule the meeting until plainclothes officers were available.
About the same time the Dimniks lost their bikes, another was taken from a neighboring townhouse. The neighbor's bike was posted on Kijiji by the same seller but the neighbor was dealing with a different division and got her bike back. Dimnik told the officer who took her statement about her neighbor's experience but he didn't know anything about it.
By that time, Dimnik says, the seller wouldn't answer calls about her and her husband's bikes. They haven't replaced their bikes and, she says, they're not sure that they will.
I've known a few people who were similarly disillusioned about losing their bikes--and the lack of help they received. One didn't take up cycling again even after moving to a rural area where bike theft is almost non-existent.
I am sure that there are many, too many, more stories like theirs in the Big Apple, as well as in Hog Town and other major cities--even the ones deemed "livable" and "bike friendly".
One thing that makes the city inhospitable is the same thing that casts a shadow over cycling in other places: theft. According to a recent report, only one percent of the bikes stolen in Toronto are ever recovered.
I would suspect that New York and other cities have similarly minuscule recovery rates. I also imagine that, like the people mentioned in a story I encountered, cyclists who get their bikes back are more likely to have done so through their own efforts than with any help from the police.
In August, someone broke into the locker if Joshua Henderson's condo on the Bay Street Corridor and took his BMC racing bike. He soon located it in a Kijiji listing: He knew the bike was his and the person who listed it was the thief because the photos in the listing were taken in the locker.
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| Joshua Henderson's bike on Kijiji |
So, Henderson set up a meeting and asked the police to accompany him. An officer told him to postpone the meeting, and he did. But when he couldn't contact the investigator the following day, he decided to go on his own. He filmed the encounter, including the part where the thief fled when Henderson announced that the bike is his and the police were on the way.
In a way, this story has a not-unhappy ending: Henderson gave police the video and details of the transaction, both of which they credit for helping them catch the thief, who was wanted in other breaking-and-entering cases. Even after all of that, Henderson says he still feels "anxious" riding his bike.
On the other hand, Corrine Dimnik and her husband are anxious about getting new bikes. Their Cannondale racing bikes were taken from their condo's underground parking garage in May. Like Henderson, they saw their bikes listed on Kijiji.
 |
| Corrine Dimnik's bike on Kijiji |
Dimnik says she contacted the seller and scheduled a meeting in front of two uniformed police officers who were taking her statement. But the officers told her she'd have to reschedule the meeting until plainclothes officers were available.
About the same time the Dimniks lost their bikes, another was taken from a neighboring townhouse. The neighbor's bike was posted on Kijiji by the same seller but the neighbor was dealing with a different division and got her bike back. Dimnik told the officer who took her statement about her neighbor's experience but he didn't know anything about it.
By that time, Dimnik says, the seller wouldn't answer calls about her and her husband's bikes. They haven't replaced their bikes and, she says, they're not sure that they will.
I've known a few people who were similarly disillusioned about losing their bikes--and the lack of help they received. One didn't take up cycling again even after moving to a rural area where bike theft is almost non-existent.
I am sure that there are many, too many, more stories like theirs in the Big Apple, as well as in Hog Town and other major cities--even the ones deemed "livable" and "bike friendly".
