TWO-WHEEL STEAL
East-end cyclists sees a spike in bicycle thefts, including straight out of an MP’s backyard,
A number of bicycle-theft incidents in rast-end Toronto in recent weeks have residents taking to social media to share their frustration.
Beach Hill resident Michelle Aarts said her teenage son, Owen Aarts MacManus, and his friend lost their bikes following a trip to the movies.
“They used the friend’s lock to lock their bikes together to one of the bike posts on Queen. When they came out of the cinema, their bikes were gone,” she said, noting that the expense to replace the bike is “unwelcome” as they just got “new tires, brakes and lights.”
Toronto-Danforth MP Julie Dabrusin was looking out her back window to the backyard when she noticed that something was off.
“I realized my bike wasn’t there,” Dabrusin said, adding that it was a “hard lesson learned” for not registering it.
Bike theft is “a big issue” in the city, said Liz Sutherland, Cycle Toronto’s director of advocacy and government relations, describing it as “unacceptable.”
“For some people, that’s their only way of getting around, and it’s a big issue for some people to replace a bike,” Sutherland said.
The Toronto police website reveals that July and August are peak months for bike theft. In 2017, the 54/55 Division alone processed 326 cases of stolen bikes, of which only three were recovered. That’s just reported thefts.
“We estimated that (bike) thefts are underreported by a factor of about four or five,” Sutherland said.
With a recovery rate of only about 1 per cent, it explains why many people don’t report, she said. She said the city’s bicycle registration system needs improving, and pointed to an appbased system in Vancouver that helped decrease bike thefts there over 30 per cent. Owners upload pictures of their bikes, and can send out alerts. Her organization is talking to the Toronto police about the idea.