By snoadmin
Envision a warm, sunny day in Long Beach, like the ones it seems we’ve lacked for the past few months. You live a few blocks away from the beach, so you figure it would be an appropriate time to ride the bike you’ve had for about four or five years now to the beach to take advantage of this long anticipated radiant day. As you’re riding, however, you’re stopped by a police officer, castigating you for not registering your bike. Then the officer scolds you for not having a bell, which he adds onto the citation he is writing you. And after all is said and done, you’re left with a flimsy yellowish paper complete with an officer’s squiggly handwriting all over it.
After a few weeks you receive a letter in the mail stating you owe more than $400 in fines for the lack of a bike registration and a bell. This is — in fact — inspired by a true story of a Long Beach resident.
Long Beach has long considered itself the “most bicycle-friendly city in America,” and with Long Beach’s many bike lanes, it’s first and newly established Bike Boulevard and it’s upcoming bike only traffic signals, this would be true. But, the former mandatory bicycle registration disproved the city’s claim.
After police officers stopped more than 80 cyclists participating in the Oct. 26 Critical Mass rides for not having night lighting, running stop signs and riding unregistered bikes, enraged cyclists went to City Hall and insisted that the authority must treat cyclists more considerately. According to an LA Times article, police gave out 60 citations and confiscated 20 bicycles during the Critical Mass ride.
Bicycle registration would take place at a select number of local fire stations, but could only be done before noon and Saturdays and Sundays.
Upon registering, the cyclist received a numbered sticker for the bicycle and the given number was recorded by the city, enabling police officials to recover stolen bikes.
Director of Public Works Mike Conway stated that police gave out 1,035 citations last year to cyclists who were not registered, and out of the 980 redeemed bikes last year, only 220 were successfully returned to their rightful owners. That’s about 22 percent, or — in other words — evidently unsuccessful.
The Long Beach city council met this past Tuesday, Feb. 8, regarding this matter among many. City Manager Pat West presented an ordinance in attempt to remove mandatory registration and, instead, make it voluntary. He also presented an alternative, which would continue mandatory registration, however through more available means such as the National Bike Registry, according to a Press-Telegram report.
After Councilmember Robert Garcia proposed to cease mandatory bicycle registration in December, the Long Beach City Council took action and unanimously agreed with Garcia’s motion, a decision that will finally reinforce Long Beach’s bicycle-friendly prestige. Instead, West notified City Hall on Tuesday that a modified policy allowing the option for cyclists to register their bike on the National Bike Registry is currently in the works.
Assuredly, Long Beach residents and cyclists applaud the recent change to the rules. Your bike ride to the beach doesn’t have to be a nail-biting pastime anymore; we are all legal riders now.
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