Haphazardly parked bikes are at risk

Students have emerged from class to find their bicycles missing — but not at the hands of a thief.
UNC’s Department of Public Safety has been cracking down in recent weeks on bike owners who park outside of designated racks by cutting their locks and impounding the bikes.

Students have to pay a $10 citation for parking improperly, plus an impoundment fee of $10, said Randy Young, DPS spokesman.

Young said 17 bicycles have been impounded thus far.

“We receive daily complaints from departments stating that bikes are being parked outside the bike racks so that it poses a hazard,” Young said.

He said DPS sent out a campuswide email warning students about the consequences of parking outside of bike racks.

The department also put up signs warning students not to park outside of racks, Young said.

Junior Michael Kayemba said he came out of class to find DPS officials in the process of impounding his bike.

They cut his lock without any warning, he said.

“It is understandable if the bike is obstructing the pathway or the handicap ramp, but my bike was behind the pathway and not in the way,” Kayemba said.

Kayemba said he was angry because his old bike had been stolen a week ago, and DPS told him they could do nothing about it.

“I wonder what their priorities are,” Kayemba said. “I would like them to re-examine what they are spending money on.”

Young said UNC Parking Control has surveyed problem areas and determined the bike racks are not overcrowded.

But some students said it is hard to find a spot on the bike racks.

“People aren’t parking their bikes in the wrong spot because they are stupid,” Kayemba said. “They are doing it because the racks are full.”

Senior Grace Phillips said her bike was removed after she parked it at a bench in front of the FedEx Global Education Center.

The closest bike rack was full and down a hill, she said.

To get her bicycle back, she had to ride in a truck with a DPS employee and drive out to the impoundment compound, which was more than 20 minutes away, Phillips said.

“It is so inefficient for them to do that,” she said. “It is a really bizarre system.”

Junior Mackenzie Neighbors warns there are also hidden costs to impoundment.

She said DPS cut her $24 bike lock when they impounded her bike.

“That is destruction of my property,” Neighbors said.

She said she takes responsibility for parking in the wrong place, but thinks DPS should take a different approach.

Since car parking in Chapel Hill is hard to come by, bike riders should not be punished, Neighbors added.

“If we want to encourage biking, we need to add more racks.”

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