Daily Lobo

Students deal with repercussions of bike-parking policy
By: Sarah M. Kramer

A little-known campus policy has left some students scratching their heads over the disappearance of their bikes.

Freshman Thomas Trujillo thought his bike had been stolen when he left it outside of Dane Smith Hall last month.

Trujillo said he was forced to park his bike improperly because of a lack of options.

"The bike racks were full. I had no choice but to chain it to the rails," he said. "There was a sign there, but you don't have a choice when the racks are full. A few other people had parked their bikes there already."

When he came back, his bike was gone.

Trujillo posted an ad about his missing bike on CraigsList.com.

"I got a call on a restricted number from a guy who said that he worked at (the Physical Plant Department)," he said. "He said I could pick the bike up from UNM Police."

Trujillo said he was able to get his bike back when he went to the campus police station, described his bike and filled out some paperwork.

"I don't disagree with them cutting it; I realize that's their job," he said. "I disagree with not letting people know they're cutting it."

Harvey Chace, associate director of the Maintenance & Planning Division of the Physical Plant Department, said the UNM Police Department gives the order for a bike to be removed.

"The Physical Plant responds to requests from campus PD or the safety office to cut the chain to remove a bike," he said.

However, UNMPD Lt. Pat Davis said the police are not responsible for bike removal.

"UNM Police doesn't deal with parking enforcement. The Physical Plant receives a complaint if a bike is parked on a hand rail," he said.

Graduate student Xuan Luo said she never has a problem finding a place to lock her bike up.

"I haven't come up against (bike confiscation)," she said. "But they should put a mark where your bike previously was and tell you where to find it if they're going to take it."

Trujillo said he has difficulty finding a parking place for his bike and that he got a warning from Physical Plant the next time he chained it outside Dane Smith.

"Something interesting was that I chained my bike in the same place a week later, and the bike got taped with a warning on the lock, saying it was my last warning," he said.

Trujillo said he never got a warning before his bike was confiscated and that UNM should consider changing the policy.

"We definitely need an expansion of the bike racks," he said. "The racks are always full."

Senior Kate Murphy said bike confiscation seems like an undue punishment for cyclists, who have chosen transportation that is good for their health and the environment.

"Never once has an illegally parked bike crossed my mind as hazardous," she said. "UNMPD ... could be spending their time on more relevant things than where someone's bike is parked."

The UNM Pathfinder handbook, which outlines rules for bikes, says UNMPD and the University Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs Department are responsible for enforcing bike policy.

The handbook prohibits riding bikes indoors, performing tricks and "parking a bicycle any place other than at an authorized bicycle rack."

The handbook also states that any student who violates these rules will be referred to the Dean of Students.

Robert Burford, judicial affairs specialist for the Dean of Students Office, said he has not had a disciplinary bike referral in a long time but that skateboard referrals are common.

"We only respond with disciplinary action when Physical Plant or another office reports a bike parked on a handicap ramp or when a student is doing something beyond transportation, violating the bike policy," he said.

Neither the UNMPD Web site nor the Parking and Transportation Web site has campus regulations about bikes, though the latter has a page of safety and security tips.

The PATS Web site also says that bike theft has decreased by half this year. Only 48 students so far have reported their bikes stolen to UNMPD, compared to 101 last year, the Web site says.

Trujillo said he did not file a report with campus police when he thought his bike was stolen.

"If a bike is stolen there's pretty much no chance of getting it back, police report or no," he said.

Trujillo said he did not have his bike registered with UNMPD.

"Most people I know don't have their bikes registered," he said. "The general consensus is they have the same feeling that I do: that if the bike gets stolen, they're never going to find it."

Davis said students who register their bikes with UNMPD are more likely to get them back if they go missing or are confiscated by UNM.

"If a bike's been registered, it makes it easy," he said. "Otherwise, we put it in safekeeping and try to return it to the owner. Every year we have an auction. Proceeds of the auction go to community safety enforcement."