A co-worker and I have been parking our bikes at a nearby bike rack for a few years. We pretty much bike through the winter although I wussed out a lot this past one.

Anyway, three bikes appeared at the rack a few weeks ago and just stay there. They're department store types with cheap locks and no seats. One has a broken brake cable. I've moved them around (still locked to the rack) to free up some room and dumped two of them together, but more bikes are showing up now and space is getting tight.

I'm happy to see that folks are biking, or at least owning a bike, but I'm getting pissed off that folks are using the bike racks for permanent storage. This is downtown Manhattan and I suspect that the bikes belong to NYU students since there is a building used as a dorm down the block. Since the session just ended and the kids are moving out, I'm wondering if these are being stored until the kids come back in September.

So, I guess the question is, how long should bikes be left on a bike rack before they're considered abandoned and get "recycled" ?

We had one like that on our racks last week with the break cable broken and not even locked. It stayed there for two days and I assume either recovered or stolen.

If it's a public rack I'd just leave them for a week or so then maybe let the police know.

If it's a private rack same thing about a week and then just notify security.

Is there an authority that maintains the bike rack?

The same type of thing happens at the commuter rail stations for the trains that provide service into Boston. At one station that I used to use quite a bit, there was one bike that had been locked to the rack for years, the chain was so corroded and it was like one giant chunk of steel, and finally it got to the point that someone even stole the back rim.

After mutilple complaints, the MBTA, who oversees the parking lots at the station, finally did something about it.

The bike rack in South Station in Boston is in the same condition, some of the bikes on that rack haven't moved in years.

I think 1/2 the bikes that are locked to public racks in the city of Boston are abandoned. They are an eyesore, nevermind something that just takes up space, and prevents legitimate riders from using the racks.

I think in DC, some city authority will mark your bike with a tag that says your bike will get removed in a certain amount of days. If no one claims the bike and/or moves it, they break the lock and move the bike themselves. I imagine something similar is available in NY.

it's a problem for sure. though in societies where bikes are used as a main means of transport abandoned bikes are a way of life.

I was astounded in Amsterdam at the number of bikes that were literally left to weather away like some form of urban sculpture.

Today is the last day of finals here the uni where I work, the very large rack near my building will have a variety of abandoned bikes as of next week. Over a few weeks they'll be stripped down and beat up a bit, then finally the grounds people will show up and cart them away. It's an annual tradition.

I noticed the same thing at Back Bay Station. Then a few weeks ago they tagged a bunch of bikes with warnings that they'd be removed if not claimed. Then they still sat there for a while. I think they finally got picked up now.

I agree the best choice is to notify the police (or security if it's private) - the cops can come by and put on the warnings and then eventually remove the bikes. Although.. I guess the police have better things to do.. but still - doesn't do much good to have a rack that is full of rusty old bikes either.

That's a question best answered by the local authorities.

I have also read that they have to periodically clean out the Amsterdam canals of bikes that have been thrown in to keep them navigable by boats. Apparently inconsiderate slobs are universal.

On some military bases they have what is called a bike rodeo. The MP's round up all bikes that look abounded, especially if they don't have reg. stickers, and auction them off or recycle them.

The city of Madison sweeps bike racks once or twice a year, and the abandoned bikes get sold off in the first week of May. I haven't found out when the University sweeps their racks, but I know they do.

If it's a business's rack, I'd keep half an eye on it. Sometimes, businesses have way way too few racks for the number of people who travel by bike. If the rack would be full even without the squatters, politely let them know about the squatters *and* the scale of the problem. No sane business wants to turn away customers, because that's a great way to go broke.

This is a perennial thread, although it hasn't come up lately.

1. Leave a note on the bikes just in case they are in use. If they are, you've got no beef.
2. If no one responds to your note, find out who owns the rack and let them know about the situation.
3. If they're not inclined to take action, ask them what their policy is on abandoned property, and whether that would allow you to cut the bikes off the rack and give them to a local bike co-op.

Bikes are meant to create freedom, not be locked up! I would set them free!

Wait, there are bikes in NYC which have been locked up with cheap locks and abandoned for weeks and they're still there?!? Man, it must be tough times even for bike thieves. I'd leave a note. Either the owners will take notice, or "nature" will take it's course.

There's one bike of which I know in New York that's been there for a few years, chained to a tree. It's mostly stripped down, but, believe it or not, a wheel is still attached.

I've seen the same things all over NYC. You can tell which bikes are abandoned with a quick glance:

- Chained & rusted solid
- Stripped of every last component yet still chained
- Rusted through and through to the point where you know it won't even roll none the less ride...

There are a lot of transient people in NYC. Some of the bikes aren't even worth the shipping to wherever the owner of the bike is going so they just leave it locked. Numb-skulls... Why not just give the bike away or sell it for a few dollars?

Bike parking in NYC is already scarce. Having abandoned bikes squatting on a packed rack isn't cool. Contact the owner of the bike rack or police & let them handle it. Or you could put a note on those abandoned bikes saying "Steal me! PLEASE? And put me out of my misery!"

Yep, this year they sold several almost-new Treks,a couple of nice Electra cruisers, several Gary Fisher MTBs, and some easily cleaned up vintage Schwinns...wish I had more space in my garage!

Some police departments set up stings that way. Especially in upper class neighborhoods and shopping areas.

+1, they've started doing that here too, they call them "bait bikes" - though I don't imagine NYC police have the money, time, or inclination to make that a huge project. I'd give it some time, then call the city if you still have no room to lock your own up.

One of them moved on Friday so someone at least is using it. So, I guess they don't have a place to keep it inside and leave it there unless they're using it. Sort of an apartment extension. An interesting problem - is a public bike rack for permanent parking or commuter parking?

There is a bike chained to a stop sign in the town I live in that I swear has never moved in the 5 years I've lived there. I wonder why no one removes it...

Well, is a public street for permanent parking -- meaning resident parking -- or commuter parking? Depends on what the municipality says, doesn't it? I know that as a resident who used to live near a train stop, I got plenty annoyed when commuters took up all the parking spaces and left none for residents. Seems like the people who actually live there are due some consideration.

In DC, you can request the removal of an abandoned bike by calling 311 or by going to dc.gov and filling out a service request form (though who knows how long it will be before the removal actually happens).

This is DC's law: "A person may secure a bicycle to a stanchion for a period of not more than the twelve (12) consecutive hours, by means of a lock or similar device, in accordance with the requirements of §1209.2....
.....The Director may remove from public space and impound any bicycle which is in violation of this chapter, or which is being operated in violation of this chapter." Info comes from https://www.massbike.org/resources/dclaw.htm

As some one who has scrimped and saved for every little piddling upgrade I've made, it makes me pretty angry when I see bikes that have just been chained and forgotten. Up here on the Duke campus, of which I am not an attendee but pass through regularly, it is common to find poor, decrepit, machines just left to rust. I totally agree that people have rights to their own property and if they wish to leave their bikes out in the weather, it is little more than a minor nuisance and of no consequence to me. I am jealous, however, that their financial situation allows them to abandon bikes that I would cherish in part or whole. Ah well, the "have"s and the "have nots" are always at odds. I'm sure I waste plenty without even giving a second thought, but my bike is important to me so that, in part, explains my heightened awareness of this kind of waste.

I went to the Penn State auction, and it's amazing how much money gets thrown away by students in the form of abandoned bikes. Some have been damaged by snow plows, but there are a lot of nice bikes sold at the auction every year.

The town only lets you park your bike for 24 hours. There is a note to that effect on the racks. It is either well enforced or the note has the desired effect