Durango is a vibrant small town, perfect for residents, including children, to navigate by bike. Parents can say, “Need a book for your project? You can ride your bike to the library.” Durango is a wonderful vacation destination for families.
People are looking for a place where parents can tell their children, “Go with your bike.”
I wonder now if Durango will continue to be the place residents and vacationers can relax with the knowledge they can safely park their bikes at a city bike rack without it being stolen by an individual or group.
Two bikes, secured to racks with “U”-type locks, have been stolen from in town bike racks in the last 10 days. The Police have been “on it,” but they cannot be the folks to make the bike racks more secure.
In the two cases I mentioned, the racks were dismantled to get the bikes off. Coming from a large town where bike theft has become lucrative, I can imagine there are people with pickup trucks who come to Durango to get bikes to sell on-line and/or at a venue. A used three-year-old mountain bike sells on Ebay for more than $1,000.
Durango, home of the Silverton train and ol’ time street crime? We need a couple of welders to beef up the bike racks.
Hopefully, Durango City government and those interested in promoting tourism can step in with productive solutions.
Sherry Dean Cansler
Durango and Washington, D.C.
