We’re Looking for Abandoned Bikes

Are there any abandoned bicycles crowding the sidewalk in your neighborhood?  Now’s your time to do something about it!  The Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) and the Philadelphia Streets Department need your help to identify all of the abandoned bikes in the city in preparation for an Abandoned Bike Clean-Up project.  On July 23^rd, the Streets department will be conducting a clean sweep of abandoned bicycles. 

Removing abandoned bicycles from city streets helps bicyclists by making bicycle parking easier to find and it helps non-bicyclists by clearing-out scarce sidewalk space.  Abandoned bikes are those that have missing or damaged parts, are in un-useable condition, and have been locked in the same location for one month or more.  These bikes will be tagged with notification for removal by the city one week before the scheduled removal.  All of the bicycles that are removed during the sweep will be donated to local charities for refurbishment.

What can you do to help?

Call 311 to report an abandoned bike.  When notifying 311, you’ll need to know the location of the bicycle; what the bike is locked to; and any distinguishing features including color, broken or missing parts, or any unique identifiers. 

Together we can make a big difference to clear the city of abandoned bicycles.