Torontonians may want to think twice before locking up their bikes along any of the city’s arterial streets.

A Star analysis of bike thefts reported to police in the past five years reveals the downtown core to be a den of bicycle thieves, with several hotspots along Yonge, Bloor West, Bay, College and Queen.

Taylor Cook, a manager at Sweet Pete’s Bike Shop, said the results are no mystery to the cycling community.

“Those are the most common places people lock up bikes, so it makes sense those are the spots bikes are stolen most frequently,” he said.

In fact, the 26-year-old no longer locks up his high-performance road bike when he hits the asphalt.

“It is either underneath me when I’m riding or at home.”

Bike thefts by police patrol zone

More than 18,000 bikes were reported stolen across Toronto and GTA between Jan. 1, 2010, and June 30, 2015.

Unsurprisingly, more thefts were reported in summer than the rest of the year, according to records obtained through a freedom of information request.

Measured on an annual basis, the frequency of reported thefts appears constant, a fact BikingToronto.com’s Joe Travers says is good news.

Bike thefts downtown

“The annual numbers are pretty consistent, which is actually a good thing if you consider that bike use in Toronto is actually increasing pretty dramatically,” the avid cyclist said.

Const. Scott Mills, social media officer for Toronto police, attributed the thefts to two criminal profiles that troll the city’s streets.

“The first are thieves of opportunity, who seize a bike for quick transportation,” he said.

“The second are organized groups ... rings that are targeting high-end bicycles to sell outside of Toronto.”

These thefts are a “huge issue,” one that has prompted city cyclists to change their commuting behaviour, says former Toronto Bicycling Network technical director Ken Miller.

“Many cyclists with a high-quality bike will not bring a lock; they don’t want to leave their bike,” he said. “Most people will use an errand bike that they don’t care about as much to leave locked up instead.”

Thanks in part to portable power tools, even the most sophisticated of bike locks are easier to break than ever before.

“Right now, for fewer than $100 at Home Depot, you can buy a battery-operated angle grinder with a rotary blade at the end that can cut through anything,” Miller said.

Last year, Katrina Reynolds locked her new, green-tinted bike to the bars outside her apartment’s bedroom window on Bleeker St. When she awoke several hours later, only remnants of her vinyl-covered lock remained.

“I thought I was dreaming, that this wasn’t real,” she said.

At the time of the theft, Reynolds had only recently resumed biking. She gave it up eight years ago after her mother was struck and killed by a distracted driver.

“It felt like the person who stole my bike actually rode off with so much more, like my progress in overcoming that fear,” she said. “I had no desire to ride my bike, and it took a long time to get back.”

The City of Toronto says it has already taken steps to implement secure, bike-specific storage across the city.

In addition to 16,000 post-and-ring bike stands that already line Toronto streets, the city has also installed bike corrals to accommodate high-capacity parking.

Bicycle Stations are a newer initiative, where a $129 annual membership grants a cyclist with a keycard access to a secure, indoor parking area complete with 24/7 video surveillance, said the city’s chief cyclist and manager of cycling infrastructure, Jacquelyn Hayward Gulati.

For now, Miller just wishes police would prioritize the issue, citing the lack of action on bike theft as a common grievance in the cycling community.

“This sort of property can be valued as much as a used car,” he said. “Police do nothing unless the bike is ridiculously expensive ... Stop treating it as a petty crime.”

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THE TOLL ON BIKES

Toronto’s yearly bike theft totals:

2010: 3411

2011: 3271

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2012: 3623

2013: 3685

2014: 3053

2015 (until June 30): 1202

Grand total: 18,245

(Total theft occurrences, over /under $5,000)

Top Streets:

Yonge: 367

Bay: 296

Bloor St W: 240

College: 230

Queen St W: 214

By month:

January: 422

February: 336

March: 673

April: 1292

May: 2261

June: 2894

July: 2939

August: 2636

September: 2120

October: 1620

November: 914

December:412