City of Toronto removing abandoned bikes from streets, sidewalks

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

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News Release:  August 29, 2014                    

City of Toronto removing abandoned bikes from streets, sidewalks

With students returning to school at this time of year, the City experiences increased pressure for safe and secure bike parking. To free up much needed bicycle parking, the City of Toronto is seeking the public's assistance in identifying abandoned bikes for removal over the next few weeks.

Residents can assist with this cleanup by calling 311 to report any bike that appears to be abandoned on sidewalks or within the public right-of-way. To help identify the abandoned bikes correctly, callers are asked to identify the bike with as much information as possible, including the colour of the bike frame, the type of bike and the location, preferably with an address.

In 2013, the City removed more than 850 abandoned bikes to make more bike parking available throughout the city. The City has also partnered with non-profit organizations to recycle salvageable parts for community bike programs.

Bikes that are clearly derelict will be removed immediately. Where there is some question about whether a bike is abandoned, the City will place a notification on the bike that identifies the bike as abandoned. If a bike has been tagged in error and the owner does not want it to be removed, he or she should simply remove the tag and park the bike at a different location. After 14 days, the City will remove any bicycles that remain tagged in the original locations.

This news release is also available on the City's website: http://bit.ly/1tTi4dr

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

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Media contact: Valerie Cassells, Strategic Communications, 416-392-8306, vcassel@toronto.ca