Time to Beef Up the Bike Racks

Above left, from DC's Scott Circle neighborhood (by way of the Bike Rack's Facebook page), is an indication that the nation's capital should consider following Portland, Oregon's lead in upgrading its bike racks—see above right.

As BTB reported in March 2016, the Portland Bureau of Transportation was prompted by instances of thieves cutting through racks to upgrade the ubiquitous staple rack. The new racks, slowly replacing old ones on the city's streets, sport some security features. A free-floating, steel-wire cable is routed through the rack's hollow steel piping, making it more difficult to sever. A crossbar 10 inches above the ground prevents would-be thieves from unscrewing the bolts and slipping a lock off the bottom of the rack. Might these safeguards become industry standards?