Jul 10 2008
News Digest: Detroit to Ticket Unlicensed Bicycles
The City of Detroit has taken considerable heat in recent days for its plan to ticket unlicensed bicycles. Several articles have been written about the controversy. Here’s the digest:
The South End News (Wayne State Student Paper):
The Detroit Police Department said through press release Wednesday that starting August 7, officers will issue $55 tickets to owners of unregistered bicycles, as part of an ordinance to protect stolen property.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the $1 license fee is valid for 5 years and is a security measure that is used to confirm ownership if a bike is stolen.
An ordinance requiring bicycle registration, though rarely enforced, has been the law since 1964.
The press release said that enforcement of the ordinance will remain relaxed until August 7, in order to allow bicycle owners the opportunity to register their bikes without penalty.
Nicole Christian’s freep.com blog:
With gas prices through the roof, does it seem backward for Detroit to suddenly begin enforcing a 1964 ordinance requiring bicycles to be registered or face up to $55 in fines?
Part of the fun of this past weekend was a long bike ride up and around Woodward, Ave., hitting Ferndale, Royal Oak and few cities in between. We didn’t bother venturing into Detroit because of this decision and the uncertainty of when it goes into effect. It happens August, unless someone steps in to say no.
I can personally tick off a dozen larger problems facing Detroit Police, so I can’t help but wonder whether this new policy will become another point to detract people from the city?
If penalizing non-registered bike owners is so progressive, why are so many surrounding cities opting against it? Detroit can do better, I believe. What’s your view?
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080707/BLOG2502/80707068/1118/rss
Todd Scott at m-bike.org:
Unfeasible to Enforce
Yesterday we spoke with attorney Michael Salhaney, who represents the City of Birmingham. We discussed the state law that allows cities to register bikes. He concurred that the state law requires appropriate signs through out the city, making bicycle license enforcement “unfeasible.”
Unreasonable Expectation
Also, as Dustin commented earlier, imagine if all cities started enforcing similar registrations? It’s an unreasonable expectation for cyclists to visit the police station of each city they ride through to register their bike. And it’s even more unreasonable in Detroit since the bike licenses are only for sale Mondays through Friday from 9am until 5pm.
Note that riding an unlicensed bike to the police to get it registered is against Detroit’s city ordinance.
A Better Solution
A much better solution for registering stolen bikes is to use the National Bike Registry, especially since the advent of craigslist and eBay mean stolen bikes are less likely to stay in the city where they were stolen. Cyclists can register their bike on a nationwide basis for roughly $1 per year. Or, they can pay 99 cents to register a recently stolen bicycle, which is a no-brainer.
http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2008/07/05/detroit-bike-license-updates
Detroit News:
DETROIT — Evelyn Roark worries about her 11-year-old grandson, Freddie Burse, as he rides his bicycle in southwestern Detroit. But it’s not gangs or speeding cars that have her fretting — it’s the police.
The Detroit Police Department announced plans this week to step up enforcement of a 1964 ordinance requiring bicycles to be registered. Officers will begin handing out $55 fines for unregistered bikes Aug. 7.
“Why are the police worrying about something like this?” Roark asked. “Are they going to start giving tickets to little kids? Maybe the police ought to concentrate on getting rid of all the dope dealers and gangs, so the kids will have a safe place to ride their bikes.”
Attorney Michael Salhaney, who represents the city of Birmingham, said Detroit will have a hard time enforcing the ordinance. He pointed to state law MCL 257.606, which allows cities to require registration of bicycles, but states that such enforcement, “shall not be enforceable until signs giving notice of the local traffic regulations are posted upon or at the entrance to the highway or street or part of the highway or street affected, as may be most appropriate, and are sufficiently legible as to be seen by an ordinarily observant person.”
Adhering to the state law would be unfeasible, Salhaney said.
“In Detroit, it would be a daunting task to post signs on every street where the ordinance is enforced,” he said. Freddie’s mom, Tina Burse, plans to register his bike before the deadline but wondered about police priorities.
“I’ve had two cars stolen in the past five years, and I never even got a phone call back from the cops,” she said. “Maybe they ought to worry about getting stolen cars back instead of worrying about bikes.”
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080704/METRO01/807040351/1006/rss01