Stanford, it would seem, is a bicyclist's unwet concrete dream. But is it a bike thief's paradise as well?
Two of my friends had their bikes stolen this week, one nabbed from Meyer Library's bike racks last night (in spite of the U-lock), and another one pinched from *inside* Toyon Hall, right outside of my friend's dormitory door.
Bikes are on my mind as well -- I just got my first bike -- and registering it is on my list to-do.
If your bike gets stolen on campus too, like my roommate's, report it to the Stanford Public Safety Department, but after that, might you help contribute to a Google Maps mashup of "Stanford Stolen Bike Reports"?
A hundred and fifty years ago or so, John Snow plotted cholera outbreak in his neighborhood, tracing it to a Broad Street pump, and without knowledge of a thing called "germs", was able to use this geospatial visual representation as an actionable, cognitive tool.
Can we do the same for crime and safety on the Stanford campus? I don't know, but let's give it a go!
Comments (3)
Absolutely register your bike.
Mine got stolen sophomore year and was returned to me by the Stanford PD (they actually used my registration to prove it wasn't his bike). Of course, it was stolen again junior year and not returned, but that's not important. Register your bike!
Posted by Troy | June 21, 2007 7:23 PM
Posted on June 21, 2007 19:23
I have heard of people stealing bikes. A few things that I have seen on different campuses are the bike owners taking the seats off of the bikes and the front tire. That could be a tip for some of the bike owners, take off a bike seat and if you a little bit more paranoid, take off the front tire.
Posted by Westwood College | June 22, 2007 1:41 PM
Posted on June 22, 2007 13:41
Well, that's rediculous. I was dreaming about going to Stanford and even visited campus recently on my SF trip; pretty nice place!
I didn't even think about something like this going on right there.
Do you people have special kind of bikes maybe?
Try to track average cost of bikes as well.
I don't personally believe that usual $500-600 bike would be stolen ever. Especially with all kind of locks and security involved.
Who need them???
Posted by ilia | July 3, 2007 6:49 AM
Posted on July 3, 2007 06:49