Dear Matteo,
I parked my bike in a busy road at 3pm today, went upstairs and looked out of the window 1 hour later to see a wheel was left. The bike next to mine had its wheel taken, too. This means in broad daylight, seen by passers-by, someone stole and walked off with half a bike and a wheel.
This is my 11th bike in 6 years in Florence and I have to say that the rage and disgust at my experience and hearing other people’s similar stories constantly has reached explosive levels. In a city that is more and more pedestrianized, quite rightly un-car-friendly and supposedly bike-friendly, boasting kilometers of cycle paths, this situation is ridiculous.
Do you have any suggestions? Places that are safe to park bikes? Solutions to this serious problem?
Thank you, Rima
Dear Rima,
I am very sorry that your bike was stolen. Unfortunately, bike thefts are occurring everywhere, from Florence to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Philadelphia or Barcelona. Even my bike was stolen recently. We are trying to make the lives of bike thieves difficult by installing bike racks that allow owners to tie the frame and at least one wheel (especially if it is quick release) and by asking bike repair shops to adopt an ethical code when purchasing used bikes.
There are some bits of advice that a cyclist should follow: use sturdy (alas expensive) bike locks; don’t leave your bike in the same place for days in a row, take a picture of your bike and make a note of its serial number or, better yet, buy one of the ‘bici sicura’ labels (www.bicisicura.it) and register the bike on the Web for our police to use in order to trace the bike should it be stolen.
Also, always report a stolen bike to the police. This is the only way we can have a realistic idea of bike thefts in the official crime statistics collected in order to warrant more decisive intervention by the state police.
Most of all, don’t be discouraged from going by bike!
Best wishes, Matteo
Those interested in writing to the mayor can send messages and comments via email to redazione@theflorentine.net, stating ‘Write to the Mayor’ in the subject line of the email. Emails must clearly state the author’s first name, surname, city and country of birth, and the city and country of residence.
