Loney to Prioritize Combating Bike Theft

Multi-Point Strategy to Reduce Crime and Bolster Active Transportation

Released Aug 30, 2022

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Shaun Loney said when elected Mayor in October, he’d move quickly to make Winnipeg the national leader in combating bike theft.

“A portion of the bike theft problem is highly organized. We need to ramp up our crime-fighting game NOW and I have the plan to do it," said Loney.

Although 2,000 to 3,000 bikes are reported stolen to Winnipeg Police Service each year, experts say the actual number is much higher. Only a small fraction are recovered and returned to their rightful owners.

Loney pledged that one of his first actions will be to replace the current local bike registration system with a far more effective one that is also connected to law enforcement throughout North America. This will give Winnipeggers new tools to get more involved in preventing theft and assisting police to apprehend thieves. Loney also said he will eliminate the fee to register a bike which is a barrier to registration.

Loney cited the City of Vancouver, which has adopted the popular 529 Garage app, resulted in more than a 30 percent decrease in bike thefts.

In addition to overhauling Winnipeg’s bike registration system and eliminating its fee, Loney outlined a comprehensive range of other measures that will put a major dent in bike theft. This includes working with the Winnipeg Police Service during the budgeting process to create a new dedicated position to combat organized bike theft; wider use of ‘bait bikes’ to deter thieves; secure long-term bike parking requirements for new developments, major transit stops and civic facilities; and a ‘Bike Theft Dashboard’.

Loney concluded his announcement by stating that “Many bike thefts are rooted in long-term social issues that Winnipeggers wanted to see addressed NOW.”

“That is why my campaign is taking the lead to not only introduce an ambitious bike theft action plan, but also major reforms that will reduce homelessness, address addiction issues, break cycles of crime by repeat offenders and connect people who most need work with the work that most needs to be done.”

Loney’s Plan to Combat Bike Theft:

1.    Replace the City of Winnipeg’s bike registration system with a more advanced system, such as 529 Garage or Bike Index, that is cross-jurisdictional and engages all Winnipeggers in efforts to reduce bike theft.

2.    Target to increase the number of bikes registered in Winnipeg by at least five-fold within the first 24 months. Only about 17,000 bikes are registered with the City of Winnipeg.

3.    Eliminate the current fee and pay cycling and other community organizations on a per bike registered basis driven by community outreach and ‘registration blitzes’.

4.    Offer a similar per-bike incentive to bike retailers to ensure customers register new bikes at point-of-sale.

5.    Work with the Winnipeg Police Board and Winnipeg Police Service to dedicate two full-time positions to work with Winnipeggers to reduce bike theft. This includes an increased focus on preventing theft by organized groups and subsequent sale of bikes and parts through online platforms such as Facebook MarketPlace and Kiiji.

6.    Expand the use of ‘bait bikes’ (i.e., bicycles equipped with tracking devices) to help lead police to thieves.

7.    Expedite the adoption of new minimum, mandatory requirements for long-term, secure bike storage for new developments.

8.    Launch a voluntary certification and labeling program, to be operated by a non-profit cycling or community organization, to recognize apartment buildings and condos, offices, shopping destinations, etc. that provide ‘best practice’ secure bike storage, electric bike charging and other end-of-trip facilities (e.g., showers and  lockers) that exceed minimum civic requirements.

9.    Expand the availability of high-quality, vandal and tamper-resistant bike lockers, coupled with video monitoring, as well as other secure, weather-protected bike parking options (e.g., bike cages, bikes stations and valet bike parking) in high-visibility locations at key transit stops and civic facilities across Winnipeg.

10.  Launch a ‘Bike Theft Dashboard’ and annual report that provides better statistics and mapping of bike theft to facilitate more effective enforcement and better inform Winnipeggers about bike theft hotspots.

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Backgrounder

● Using the 529 Garage ‘Cost of Bike Theft Calculator’, bike theft is projected to cost Winnipeggers almost $80-million over the four-year term of Winnipeg’s next Mayor. Almost 5,000 Winnipeggers will stop cycling entirely over this period due to bike theft.

● A survey earlier this year by the advocacy group Bike Winnipeg found that only 3 percent of respondents felt that the City’s current registration system is effective in reducing theft. 

● Biking infrastructure and support programs in the City of Winnipeg are guided by the Winnipeg Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies Final Report. It notes that “fear of theft or vandalism is a significant deterrent to cycling” and that “providing safe and secure parking at key locations throughout the city is a significant means of facilitating cycling” (see page 188). The report recommends that the City take a leadership role in providing secure short- and long-term bike parking (see page 192). 

● The City of Winnipeg’s Climate Action Plan requires the City to take action to: 

- “Accelerate the implementation of the Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies”; and

- “Use development approval processes to encourage private active transportation facilities and infrastructure such as secure bike parking and shower facilities”
(see page 39).

● Introduced in 2013, Project 529 Garage has been adopted not only in Vancouver, but also in more than 400 other jurisdictions including other Canadian cities such as Brandon, London, Ottawa, Regina, Moncton, Peterborough, Guelph and Burnaby. It offers bike owners free registry, tamper resistant shields; and the ability to ‘check before you buy’ to see if your potential purchase is stolen. 

● Both Calgary and Edmonton use Bike Index, another non-profit bike registration service with similar capabilities as Project 529 Garage.

-  Using this service, Calgary has been able to return about twice as many bikes reported stolen to their rightful owners as Winnipeg (about 22 percent in Calgary  vs. less than 10 percent in Winnipeg).

-  In Edmonton, nearly 100,000 people have registered their bikes with recoveries steadily rising from 50 to 100 per cent a year to more than 600 in 2021.

● Research has shown that one of two most important factors in deciding whether to bike to transit are the perception of secure bike parking. The other is availability of bike lanes to and from transit facilities.

● Unlike the City of Winnipeg, other cities such as Toronto have a ‘Bicycle Theft Dashboard’ that provides the Toronto Police Service and the public with valuable insights about bike theft rates and patterns.

Sources

1. Cycle of Gloom.
    Winnipeg Free Press, August 27, 2022.

2. Winnipeg bike group hopes to use survey results to reduce bike theft.
CBC Manitoba, April 5, 2022.

3. Time to broaden search for bike-solutions.
Winnipeg Free Press, May 24, 2019.

4. Chop shops buying stolen bikes for $3 to $10 - or trading them for meth.
CBC Manitoba, July 10, 2018

5. Meet Canada’s only full-time bike theft detective.
McLean’s, October 12, 2021.

6. Vancouver Police anti-bike theft program recognized by World Bank.
DH News. October 29, 2022.

7. Stolen bike recovery climbing thanks to online registry.
Taproot Edmonton, June 10, 2022.

8. Bicycle Parking and Accessibility Plan (pages ES-4 and ES-5).
Denver Regional Transportation District, September 2015.

9. Essential of Bike Parking: Selecting and Installing Bike Parking that Works.
Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals. 2015.