Font Resize
Putting butts on bikes just got a boost.
By unanimous vote, the Salt Lake City Council has agreed to allow the police to donate all unclaimed bicycles to the city's nonprofit bicycle collective, which fixes them up for low-income residents and refugees -- often for free.
"It's a great way to get those bicycles back into the community where either kids or low-income families have access to efficient and inexpensive transportation," says Dave Iltis, chairman of the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee. "Given the popularity of cycling, especially as gas prices go up, that total pool -- through abandoned or stolen bicycles -- could go way up."
Parties from the mayor's office and the collective have been working through the details of the resolution for nearly a year. Earlier this month, the council gave its nod. Members say the prospect of putting bikes back on the streets -- even if it means losing a few thousand dollars at public auctions -- benefits the city by providing alternate transportation and reducing air pollution.
"It's more of a value-added partnership than it is a donation," says collective Executive Director Jonathan Morrison, explaining that 30 nonprofits received rehabbed bikes in 2008 -- some as many as 150. The majority, Morrison notes, went to the International Rescue Committee, which helps to service refugees.
Police typically hold bicycles that are stolen, abandoned or kept for case evidence for 90 days. If the
On average, cops collect 150 to 175 bikes per year. The resolution places an annual cap of 400 that can be donated.
Several nights a week, volunteers meet to repair the bikes at the collective, 2312 S. West Temple. Residents either can buy them for below-market value, work off the cost in a volunteer-trade, or get them for free if they provide signed paperwork showing they are affiliated with a goodwill organization.
"We do sell some bikes to keep the lights on," Morrison says. "But predominantly, most of our bikes are given away."
He praised the city for increasing his inventory, which should guarantee the collective doesn't run out of the two-wheeled treasures. Just in case, Morrison says, the nonprofit is exploring similar resolutions with other cities and their police departments across the Wasatch Front.
Iltis says such donations aid Mayor Ralph Becker's goal of enhancing a sustainable community. And he argues the merit of giving them up for reuse outweighs the meager loss of revenue.
"The benefits," he says, both tangible and intangible, are much more than that."
