Safe at last

Looks nice, doesn't it? Only room for about 12 bikes, but that's 12 bikes that probably won't suffer the indignities visited upon so many other bikes parked at Ashby. Special thanks to BART Director Bob Franklin for making it happen.

Yadda, yadda, yadda

Another anniversary

One month anniversary for this down-on-its-luck Schwinn mountain bike (or the remnants thereof)

Good news and bad news

The good news is that there's now nice, bright lighting around most of the bike racks at Ashby, making it much easier to photograph the latest vandalized bike at night. The bad news is...well, here's the latest vandalized bike:

What we have here...

... is a Trek mountain bike with a stolen rear wheel.

Monday morning

Congratulations, lil' Huffy...

It's your one-month anniversary.

Hello ... what do we have here?

Looks like a cable lock that was snipped in two ... I'd hazard a guess that this cable used to be wrapped around a bike.

Continued ...

Happy Thanksgiving?

Not for this classic Schwinn Varsity.

Chain cut ...

... bike gone. You can't really tell in this nighttime photo, but this chain was cut with bolt cutters.










Updated: Here's a remnant of the link that was cut.










This probably happened at the same time that this cable was snipped (it was just a few spaces away on the rack), but I didn't notice it until later.

Cable cut ...

...bike stolen.

Secure parking inside Civic Center station

A little field trip to Civic Center station finds bike racks inside the paid area, under the immediate watchful eye of the Station Agent and all passengers walking through the faregates. Nice, no? Still waiting at Ashby.

Same bike, fewer wheels

The thing about vacation ...

... no matter how great it is, you get back and everything is still the same.

Going on vacation ...

... don't steal nothing while I'm gone.

Capricious (Bike) Commuters

Okay, now this I don't get ... the owner of this Huffy had two horseshoe locks, but locked only the frame and rear wheel. Not that we should blame the victim, but ...










On the subject, the Capricious Commuter asked if the bikes shown here with stolen wheels had been fully locked up (i.e., both wheels securely locked). In a few cases, I've seen evidence of chains and cables that have been cut (I've lost a bike to this myself). But mostly, it looks like the stolen wheels were not locked. Can't say if this is this due to careless cyclists, or cyclist ignorance of theft risks and proper locking. BART could help by offering a little bike security information on its website, in its printed "Bikes on BART" materials, and at the stations. A little more than the current amount of information, which is precisely none. In the meantime:

• Use a high quality horseshoe lock (not a cable or chain).
  
• If you have quick release wheels, lock them both.
• If you have a quick release seat, lock it or take it with you.
• Consider getting an ugly commute-only bike with solid (not quick release) axles and seat clamp.
  

Progress?

Those bikes that were tagged by BART Police last week? They've been removed. Thanks, Lt. Conneely! And I'm told that BART is implementing a new program under which bike racks will be cleared of abandoned wrecks once every six months. I guess this is an improvement over the previous system (remove rusting hulks once a year, or in response to much complaining to BART staff and Board members), and it will help to keep the accumulated detritus from taking over all of the bike parking spaces. But if BART's goal is to encourage bike access by presenting a safe and inviting atmosphere (and, as far as I know, BART does have that goal, but please tell me if I'm mistaken), you just can't have a pile of stripped bike frames rusting away for 6 months.

October 30

Friday at Ashby

And so it goes, and so it goes...

Bike without a wheel ...










... meet wheel without a bike.










You should get along well; you've got so much in common.

Etc., etc., etc.

Where once there was a front wheel, now there is none.










Note, however, something new: red "evidence" tape on the handlebar, and a BART Police tag tied to the handlebar.










In the 6 1/2 years that I've been watching bikes get stolen and vandalized at Ashby BART, I've never seen this before. Perhaps BART is preparing to remove the hulks that have been wasting away here for months? Perhaps this is a sign that BART Police are taking a closer look at the bike theft issue?

October 20

October 16

Hooray!

BART has agreed to place two bike racks inside the paid area at Ashby station. Principal credit goes to BART Director Bob Franklin (who isn't even technically responsible for Ashby Station, but who cares about improving BART access and station environment).

When? Possibly within "several weeks." If problems arise, BART will yank the racks back up ... so park nice.

Them wide open spaces

Nothing but dustbunnies and tumbleweeds blowing through this dead-end wasteland in the paid area of Ashby station. It's a perfect spot for BART to install some bike racks (per Recommendation B10 of BART's Bike Access and Parking Plan).










Here's another nice, quiet little cul-de-sac inside the paid area. Now, you might say that this is an emergency exit and should be kept clear for, y'know, emergencies and stuff. But BART is seemingly a little more easygoing and is using this space to store some barricades. So, as long as it's okay to barricade-off the emergency exit, there couldn't be any harm in also safely parking a few bikes here, could there?

Later that same day ...

Nearby, all that remained of a once-healthy bicycle was the bloody, severed cable...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the BART system

It's been mentioned to me that Ashby is not the only BART station with bike security problems. Too true. Ashby is the only one that I can monitor daily, but I'd be happy to trade links with anyone who wants to keep an eye on other BART stations.

Hmm

Not sure what to think about these ... it's unusual to find a vandalized bike first thing in the morning; it usually happens during the day.

BART gets it

Someone, somewhere deep in the bowels of BART gets it. It's right there in BART's 2002 Bicycle Access and Parking Plan:

• Stations with the Highest Number of Reported Thefts of Bicycles and Bicycle Parts: North Berkeley 56 (#1); Ashby 41 (#2); systemwide average 11.
• "Racks should be located within sight of the station agent, vendors, passing pedestrians or in a highly visible area with heavy foot traffic. If such space is not available, consideration should be given to installing racks within the paid area of the station. Racks should not be used if these parameters cannot be met."
• "Recommendation B-10. Continue and expand demonstration project for bicycle racks in the paid area."
  
• "Recommendation B-14: Develop and implement a maintenance program to regularly clean and maintain bicycle lockers and rack areas, including the removal of abandoned bicycles."
  

Like I said, it's right there in the plan ... it's just that, over 4 years later, BART hasn't done anything about it.

September 18

Hmm, that seems strangely familiar ...

Last time I saw this bike it still had a front wheel and a seat.










This bike, sad to say, has now become a magnet for further theft ... the owner isn't coming back for it ... it's just going to sit here rusting away, advertising the acceptability of bike theft and encouraging more of the same.

Speaking of which, why are these wrecks still here, more than a month after they first appeared?




















It wouldn't be a bad idea for BART to remove these hulks in a timely manner, but I've been told by a BART insider that the standard program is for BART to remove the bike detritus once a year, before Bike To Work Day. How about a BART policy under which all wrecks are removed within a week?

September 15

September 8

The secure lock-up...

... is done like this.

A: Not Enough

BART police quickly called back to let me know that since August 1 they have two reported bike crimes at Ashby BART (one bike stolen on August 8; and one rear wheel stolen on August 23). In actuality, though, there were a total of at least 13 partial thefts (including just one that BART knows about), plus the one total theft that BART knows about.

As the management-types say, you can't manage what you don't measure. And BART clearly isn't doing a good job of measuring bike crimes at Ashby station. Perhaps that explains why they have done so little to improve security. Fortunately, getting real data is practically free ... BART just has to ask for it:

1. Place signs in all bike parking areas reading "Help BART police reduce bike crimes; report all theft and vandalism. Call 510-464-xxxx or visit bart.gov/policereport." (I don't even know what phone number to put down, because there is no information at BART's web site on how to file a police report ... no wonder no one does it!)
   
2. Create a webpage at bart.gov/policereport to allow filing of police reports for simple property crimes.

Q: What does BART know?

I've requested data from BART police department on reported bicycle crimes at Ashby BART since August 1. I've seen 13 bikes vandalized since August 7, but I suspect that few if any of those incidents were reported to BART police.

September 6

August 25

Inventory

So, what's my personal tally for being stupid enough to bike to Ashby daily?

• 1 bike
• 1 helmet
• 2 kickstands
• 2 LED lights
• numerous bungee cords

August 23

Today brings another example of the ever-popular "Ashby unicycle"

The $20 solution

Pull up a few of the outside bike racks, plop them down inside the paid area of the station ... voila, instant bike security. Expenses: 1 box of bolts; some concrete-anchoring epoxy ... call it $20.



















The slightly more expensive (but still cheap) upgrade: move the swing gate to the east side of the faregates ... better yet, replace the swing gate with a wheelchair/bike accessible faregate on the east side of the existing faregates.

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Welcome to Ashby BART!

A few lovely photos taken between August 7 and August 15, 2006.