Campus services join efforts to increase bike security
The Central Student Association Bike Centre has kicked off a new initiative to help students protect against bike thefts on campus and around the city. The Lock4Lock campaign provides an opportunity for students and Guelph community members to trade in their old cable locks for new, sturdier u-locks free of charge. The campaign is in partnership with the Campus Community Police and 100 locks have been purchased for students to trade for their old chain locks.
According to Sofia Becerra, the central coordinator for the Bike Centre, “We’re asking students to bring in their old cable locks because u-locks are more secure and because cable locks can be pretty easily cut with cable cutters.”
According to the Campus Community Police website, there were 76 reported bike thefts on the University of Guelph campus in 2015, and 90 per cent of those were bikes that had a chain or cable lock securing them.
“…an opportunity for students and Guelph community members to trade in their old cable locks for new, sturdier u-locks free of charge.”
“We’re exchanging for u-locks for free, to increase awareness about using u-locks, and to encourage students to secure their bikes on campus, and it helps out the campus police a lot because they don’t have to deal with as many bike thefts,” explained Becerra.
While 76 bike thefts have been reported to the Campus Community Police, Becerra believes that the actual number could be much higher because, “When people get their bike stolen they may end up just not reporting it.”
The Lock4Lock campaign has, so far, distributed 50 locks at the Bike Centre, and an additional 30 have been exchanged at the Campus Community Police headquarters. While the focus of the Lock4Lock campaign is on trading in old chain and cable locks for u-locks, cyclists who are looking to secure their bikes can also purchase a u-lock at the Bike Centre at a reduced price. “Once the program runs out, people will hopefully know a little bit more about the Bike Centre and they will know the Bike Centre is a [place] on campus and they will have more awareness of it.”
The Lock4Lock campaign will run until November, or until the Bike Centre and the Campus Community Police service have run out of u-locks to exchange. While the campaign is focused around raising awareness about bike security for students, community members can also go to the Bike Centre to participate in the Lock4Lock program, or utilize any of the other services that the centre provides.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion.