CALIFORNIA BICYCLE NEWS AND CYCLING SAFETY TIPS BLOG

Despite a whirlwind of optimistic publicity surrounding San Diego’s new bike share program, many are worried that it will not be the pot of gold that was promised. Previously, we covered the unveiling of the San Diego bike share program and its unexpected delays. The program, co-sponsored by Deco-Bike, was slated to open for business sometime between January and March; however, the city lacked permits from businesses on whose property the bike-share stations were to be built. Despite the delays, San Diegans remained hopeful about the program. However, New York City’s similar Citibike program recently flopped after much pre-launch rhetoric of solving the city’s infamous traffic problems. Citibike faced too little riders and too much costly maintenance. Bike share programs in Washington D. C., Chicago and San Francisco all owe their existence to public subsidies. San Diego’s bike share program “is unique in the sense that we have no public…
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Within the San Diego cycling community, there is no one lower on the totem pole than the bike thief. In the past few months, a number of San Diego cyclists with well-locked bikes were robbed by previously unknown bike thieves. Finally, the rogues responsible for the serial bike thefts throughout the county have been apprehended by the San Diego Police Department. The thieves, two men in their mid-20’s, would drive around affluent neighborhoods, noting which garage doors and patios were accessible. When residents were away from home, they pair would scour the unattended property for expensive bicycles. Some of the bicycles recovered by the police cost as much as $15,000. One Carmel Valley couple lost a $1,000 FSR mountain bike. The bicycle was locked to their driveway when they left with what seemed to be a durable lock. “I came out and didn’t expect to see the bike gone, and…
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