Before Tuesday, Sept. 24, bikers on the Brigham Young University campus had better study the rules that outlaw chaining a bike to a tree or a handrail.
Otherwise, traffic enforcement officers will school them by cutting their locks and impounding their bikes."We really don't want to do this if we don't have to," said Lt. Steve Baker, manager of Parking and Traffic Services for the Provo campus. "We never like to impound, except this year it's created more of a problem."
Baker said the university has seen a 15 percent increase in bicycle registrations, 800 so far. And he said many more bikes never get registered.
Pedestrians have been rerouted around the construction zones on campus, making sidewalks and access points more congested.
Baker believes more bikers are leaving bikes on trees and fences simply because it's more convenient and saves time.
The problem is that the bikes then block access ways for the disabled and create more problems for the heavier foot traffic.
The bikes chained around trees and bushes harm the vegetation, too, he said. "We've had some complaints from the grounds people. The rubbing and scraping is a problem."
Baker said sufficient bike-rack space should be available in a variety of locations on campus. He's continually ordering and putting new racks in place without dismantling old ones. "We've added 1,300 to 1,400 in the past four years."
He said every day he notices several hundred spaces going unused while bikes are chained in illegal places.
"There are some on the east and west sides of the (Harold B. Lee) library that go empty and some by the faculty office building."
He feels badly when an expensive lock and chain system is destroyed to move a bike.
The impound fee is actually just $5 with $1 of that fee going toward registration of the bike, but Baker is aware that few students can afford to replace a $45 or $50 lock.
Baker said university police actually have the right to cut locks and impound bicycles at any time. He's just serving notice that enforcement will be stepped up after Tuesday so bikers can mend their ways before it costs them.
"It's something that looks innocent enough but it really is a problem," said Baker. "People don't realize what's happening and I have an obligation to help with this."