More than $100,000 worth of bicycles have been stolen in the past month, leading Boulder police to encourage cyclists to lock up their rides.
According to a Boulder police tweet on Thursday, 45 bikes worth $103,000 were stolen within the last 30 days in Boulder. Police said a majority were stolen between 21st Street and 30th Street and along the Arapahoe Avenue to Pearl Street corridor. In most cases, a thief was able to cut a cable lock.
Boulder police officer Mitch Trujillo said the spike is specific to smaller areas near campus and the most likely reason is simply that the opportunity is there for thieves to cut through the cable locks. Trujillo said one to two bikes are stolen everyday.
“It’s populated by a lot of students with bikes who haven’t got the education on how to limit their risk or lessen the opportunity or how to lock up their bike properly,” Trujillo said. “It’s a small, densely populated area.”
Trujillo said police currently have no leads on who is stealing the bikes.
In the tweet, police encouraged cyclists to use a U-lock, which is described as the most secure type of bike lock.
Police also recommend cyclists use one U-lock for the front wheel and one for the back wheel of their bike and lock their bike to a sturdy structure in a well-populated and well-lit area. Even at home, police said cyclists should secure their bikes as many are stolen from garages and yards.
Police believe the number of stolen bikes could be higher as many bikes recovered are not reported as stolen or bikes that are reported are not registered with Bike Index.
Cyclists can register with bike index, a bike recovery platform, for free at bikeindex.org. Police ask stolen bikes be reported to bit.ly/boulderbiketheft or 303-441-3333.
Free bike lockers, parking and racks are located around Boulder.
Free lockers can be found at the Downtown Transit Station or the Table Mesa Park-n-Ride as well as other Park-n-Rides. Cyclists can also lease a locker for $20 every six months. Anyone wanting more information about bike lockers can call 303-299-6000 or 303-442-7332.
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