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[edit: We're just going to repeat all the debates well covered in the abandoned bikes thread.]
How long is long enough in the opinion of the naysayers? Plus a bit longer now due to lockdown?
If it's been there since 2019 it is abandoned. If you leave a bike unmoved and in increasing disrepair for more than 6 months locked to railings most reasonable people would realise and accept that others would assume it's abandoned and remove it - either officially or unofficially. You might be pissed about it but it's your own fault.
I wonder what percentage of bikes tagged by a council for removal are subsequently removed by their owners before the big day. My guess would be almost none.
Another perspective would be that people who lock bikes on the street and leave them there unused for years to rust away are littering our public spaces.
Alexnharvey-
I’m sure we probably are repeating what’s been said in the abandoned bikes thread.
IMO, no matter how long it’s left for it’s still someone’s property.
I think if the council notice it themselves (or are notified of it by someone who thinks it’s an eyesore, trip hazard etc) and remove it and then there’s an auction or some way to buy it from them then I say fair enough. Bringing it to their attention because you want to claim it = pretty shady.
I think however that there is something to be said for following your morals rather than laws (and being prepared to deal with the consequences of doing so) but I’m not sure I can say it in a way that doesn’t make it sound like I’m encouraging bike theft. Nor do I think it’s a point worth making to someone who would report a bike to the council in order to try and legitimise stealing it.
M_V
@ggreen I can see where you are coming from, feeling it would be a shame for the bike to be either stolen or destroyed and you want to ‘save’ it but just taking it would be stealing and bringing it to the attention of the council so that they remove it and you can get it, well that just seems like stealing by proxy.
I’d be pretty pissed if I had locked a bike up somewhere and someone with really no idea of how long it’d been there or why it was locked there or whether I intended coming back for it had caused it to be removed.
Of course I’d also be pissed if I came back for it and it had just been simply stolen/removed.
I don’t think I’d really care if it had been taken by someone who was going to rescue it and give it some use.
At the end of the day, it’s someone else’s property, you should leave it be.
It’s not like it’s a particularly rare or good quality bike. If you want a Charge Plug, but one. If you want to rescue a bike, go to the police auction or search eBay for bikes listed as ‘Parts or not working’.