Cyclists using Maple Meadows Station to store their bikes for long periods of time might want to find a new parking spot.
TransLink will remove bicycles which have been left abandoned or discarded at their bike parkades, in preparation for a predicted increase in reliance on public transit.
Starting next week, transit police will place a removable tag on all bicycles stored in parkades and take down detailed descriptions of the bikes. Two weeks later, during the week of November 9, Transit Police will remove any bicycles which remain tagged and match the recorded description.
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TransLink spokesperson, Dan Mountain, said this is the first time the company has performed the action.
“We’re hoping communicating this out might mean some people who have left their bikes there will come and grab them,” he said.
Bicycles removed will first be checked if they were stolen through police databases and 529 Garage, which is an online service to report stolen bicycles in the community. Owners will be contacted by Transit Police if a bicycle’s serial number matches a police report or a 529 Garage report.
All bicycles that have not been reported as stolen will be donated to the PEDAL Society’s Pedals for the People Program. The PEDAL Society is a non-profit organization that provides quality bicycles to Metro Vancouver residents in need of affordable transportation through their Pedals for the People Program.
Mountain said transit ridership has increased steadily since the low point of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We do expect it to go up once there’s a vaccine, and we figured now is a good time to clean up the bike parkade while it’s relatively empty, so they are free and ready for cyclists to use when the weather starts getting nicer again next year and transit ridership begins to return [to pre-pandemic levels].”
Bike Parkade rules and regulations ask customers to only use the facilities for single-day use, and prohibits long-term storage.
They cost $1 a day, and are capped at $8 per month.
Customers can register their Compass Card for Bike Parkade access at translink.ca/bikeparking.
ronan.p.odoherty@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
