A Kingston bicycle shop has released the findings of a recent survey in hopes of highlighting the significance of bike thefts in the city.

Frontenac Cycle’s Graeme Healey and Carla Teixeira prepared a “Bicycle Theft in Kingston” report and sent it to local city officials as well as members of the Kingston Police on Monday. The report includes a survey of 254 people done over social media and in person at their location between August and November.

Healey, who has been with Frontenac Cycle for 16 years, told the Whig-Standard that multiple customers were coming into his shop on a daily basis because their bicycle — or parts of it — had been stolen.

“The real initiator for this was just the staggering numbers of thefts that we see every year,” Healey said. “I’ve seen the increase, I’ve seen how many more people are being affected by it now than there were even five years ago.”

Of the respondents to the survey, 44.8 per cent had at least one bike stolen, and 9.8 per cent had three or more stolen. Just over 44 per cent reported having parts of their bike taken, the most common being seat and seat posts, wheels, lights, brakes and handlebars.

“Bike theft often reflects what’s wrong in our community as it is heavily connected to poverty and drug addiction,” reads the report. “Kingston’s goal of becoming Canada’s most sustainable city will not be accomplished if there are bike racks with bike skeletons attached to them.”

Those who took the survey gave multiple recommendations, which included: more secure bike parking, better police enforcement patrolling high-theft areas and to investigate known “chop-shops,” incentives to purchase quality bike locks, improved social services for poverty reduction and drug prevention, and better educational campaigns for bike owners.

“[The recommendations] are worth looking into,” Mayor Bryan Paterson said after reading the report. “There’s still lots of work to be done to decide the details, and what everything would look like, and where it would be located, but I certainly think it’s worth looking into.”

He agreed that bike thefts are an issue in Kingston and that he takes it seriously. He thinks the report does a good job highlighting that issue.

“It’s an important issue, and I think there are some things that can be done,” Paterson said. “I think education matters a lot. Education isn’t always super expensive, but it’s helping people to understand it’s not just about buying a bike, but ensuring you have the right lock and you know where you’re going to park it.”

The City of Kingston’s Active Transportation Master Plan includes options for secure bike parking, but as Hal Cain of Cycle Kingston pointed out, it still could take time for anything to go from writing to reality.

“I think things are progressing. The real issue comes around timing and budgets,” said Cain, who was on the technical advisory group for the Active Transportation Master Plan.

“The mantra that we have is ‘lock it or lose it,’ ” Cain said. “Anything that can be stolen will be stolen.”

Rick Regan, owner operator of Rick’s Bike Repair, doesn’t think Kingston is any worse than other municipalities. He said he always shakes his head when someone invests thousands of dollars for a good bike but then buys a $5 lock.

“The [thieves] go to [Queen’s University] or to [St. Lawrence College], because those are target-rich environments for them,” Regan said. “Kids who haven’t necessarily locked their bikes up properly or if they have, they’ve left them there at night where [thieves] can work on them for a while.”

Sheila Gardner, owner operator of J&J Cycle, says victims of bike thefts come into her store “too often,” though she hasn’t seen an increase. She agreed education for bike owners could be helpful, but pointed out that sometimes buying a good lock can be a “catch 22” for avid cyclists.

“Locks are heavy and bulky. When someone is buying a bike, it’s lightweight, you’re spending more money to get a lighter bike and then you’re adding this heavy lock to it,” Gardner said. “The problem, too, is that bikes are easy to steal because they literally roll away. You can leave your barbecue out and it’s not stolen, but a bike is built to be fast. Someone can hop on it and be gone quickly.”

Gardner said that when J&J Cycle was broken in to and multiple bikes were taken, the police went beyond her expectations to investigate.

“I think we’re lucky that way, I think they go out of their way to find owners,” Gardner said. “I’ve had police officers come [into the store] and we’ve looked up serial numbers. They definitely want to find homes for them and cut down on [bike thefts].”

Sgt. Cam Gough, who overseas the force’s General Investigations Unit, said that there are proactive techniques that the force uses to catch bike thieves, including a bait bike.

“We do recognize it’s a problem,” Gough said, recalling one woman who had her bike stolen twice within a few weeks. “A lot of times people are doing their best to secure their bikes with locks, but these thieves have tools that can render a lock useless, then off they go.”

Gough urged residents to be diligent. If something is suspicious, Gough said don’t be afraid to call police at 613-549-4660. If there is a theft in progress, call 911.

“If it looks like there’s a bike being stolen, call it in,” Gough said. “Or even if there’s someone lurking around a bike rack at night that looks out of place or you haven’t seen them before.”

Kingston Police’s has a program called Bike Watch where residents can register their bike’s serial number, photo and description. The information is uploaded to the Canada Police Information Centre so that if an officer catches someone else on it, it can be returned. To register, visit https://www.kingstonpolice.ca/news-community/community-programs/bike-watch/

Top tips for locking up your bike from Cycle Kingston:

Lock it in a public, heavy-traffic area The lock should go around both wheels and the frame Don’t leave it over night

The Bicycle Theft in Kingston report can be found here.

scrosier@postmedia.com

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