I visited the bike parking on State Street this evening and was happy to see that many of the expectations I had have been addressed.
1) Some racks had signs attached to them indicating the rack would be removed, a general indication of where alternative parking could be found, and the phone number for the property room. 2) A few bicycles had notices attached indicating the bikes must be moved immediately. (part of the notice was blacked out, but "Chief Richard Williams" is easy to read.) >From this information, I discovered the Madison General Ordinances that apply to rack removal for emergency events. In general the City has done a good job on meeting the requirements of the regulations. The text of the ordinance is included below. The city did not follow the regulations to the letter, but many of the departures were inconsequential. However, I do have some followup recommendations based on what I saw today: I agree that both notices [12.762(3)(a)], the notice attached to the bike rack and the notice attached to a bicycle, should include the following information: * The information about when the rack will be removed [12.762(3)(a)1.] * The information that any parked bicycles past the removal date will be impounded [12.762(3)(a)2.] * The phone number and hours of the office responsible for returning bicycles [12.762(3)(a)3.] * Information about alternate parking [12.762(3)(a)4.] Maybe a web address would work better than a phone number. This is important for both notices because, as was obvious today, some of the notices attached to the racks had been removed or damaged, and it is also possible that notices attached to bicycles were removed or damaged before a bicyclist had a chance to read it. What I saw was that the notices on the racks had most of the relevant information, but the notices on the bikes were general "this bike is subject to seizure" notices. It appeared that maybe 1 in 5 racks on State Street had rack notices. Maybe 1 in 20 bikes had notices attached to them. I would also note that Robbie Webber got the message to Channel3000 and they have updated their site to include information useful to bicyclists. If anyone else has information about how the rack removal process is going, please let me know! I snapped some pictures of the notices in case anyone is interested in seeing the notices for themselves - again, just drop me a note if your would like the images sent to you. --- 12.762 REMOVAL OF BICYCLE RACKS FOR STREET USE PERMITS OR EMERGENCY REMOVAL. Upon compliance with this section, the City of Madison may remove any bicycle rack located on City-owned property within the City of Madison and may impound any bicycle parked in the rack. Only a police officer; the City Traffic Engineer and Parking Manager, and the Superintendent of Parks, or his/her designee, shall have authority to remove any bicycle rack and impound any bicycle parked in the bicycle rack. (Am. by ORD-06-00061, 6-3-06) (1) Definitions . For purposes of this section, the following words or terms have the meaning set forth below: (a) "City-owned Property" means real property owned by the City of Madison, including but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, parking lots, buildings and rights-of-way. (b) "Bicycle" has the meaning found in Sec. 340.01(5), Wis. Stat. (c) "Bicycle Rack" means a frame, stand or other permanent or semi-permanent fixture designed and intended to provide parking space for bicycles. (d) "Removal period" means the portion of time during which a Street Use Permit granted under Section 10.056, MGO is in effect or an emergency declared by the Madison Police Department is in effect. (2) A bicycle rack may not be removed more than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the removal period. (3) Notice Procedures . Before removing any bicycle rack and impounding any bicycle parked in the bicycle rack, the City of Madison, or its designee, shall provide notice of the removal as follows: (a) At least forty-eight (48) hours before the scheduled removal of the bicycle rack, notice shall be affixed to each designated bicycle rack and other permanent fixtures in the area. Notice shall also be affixed to the handlebars or seat of any bicycle parked in the bicycle rack. The notice shall include: 1. The date and time of the scheduled removal of the bicycle rack; 2. A statement that any bicycle parked in the bicycle rack on the removal date will be impounded; 3. Information about retrieving an impounded bicycle, including but not limited to, a phone number, address and the hours during which the owner may retrieve the bicycle; 4. A phone number for the owner to call for information about alternate available parking for bicycles during the removal period. (b) Twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled removal of the bicycle rack, notice shall be affixed to the handlebars or seat of any bicycle parked in the rack. Said notice shall contain the identical information set forth in subsection (a). (c) Upon removal of the bicycle rack, all bicycles parked in the bicycle rack shall be removed and securely stored in the Police Property Room. (d) Once the bicycle rack has been removed, notice shall be affixed to the nearest permanent fixture providing information about retrieving an impounded bicycle. The notice shall include a phone number, address and the hours during which the owner may retrieve the bicycle. (4) The City of Madison shall return the bicycle rack to its original location within twenty-four (24) hours after the removal period ends. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
