Curbing bicycle thefts in San Francisco
Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
09/21/11
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011...#ixzz1YcOpIfMR
....As soon as January, San Francisco’s downtown business owners could be required to allow employees to bring their bicycles into offices, or provide secure storage onsite or within 750 feet of a building.
“This is actually really important in a number of ways,” said Supervisor John Avalos, who introduced legislation Tuesday that would enact the requirement in January. “Often, cyclists will go downtown with their bikes and will not have a space to secure them, will lock them up on the streets, clogging up some of our sidewalk space and making them less accessible.”
The law also is meant to reduce bike thefts.
“We also have a bike theft problem — it happens every day,” Avalos said. “I’ve had one bike stolen here in San Francisco. This is something that is a critical problem for a lot of cyclists.”
Ken Cleaveland, director of public affairs for the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco, which represents the interests of downtown building owners, said the group is open to the proposal.
“We’re working with the supervisor,” Cleaveland said.
He agreed bike theft is a problem in The City.
“If I had a $5,000 bicycle, I would want it right next to my desk every day,” he said.
Under the proposal, employers would decide if workers could bring bikes inside businesses, such as by work stations.