Summons to court bike leaning a bike on a wall!

[Lucifer]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Am I the only one who was previously unaware you could get a ticket for this?

I honestly had no idea either that you could get a ticket for leaning a bike against a wall. This is news to me.

[Magnum PEI]

Seems like the law only applies to Stephen Avenue Mall.

(3) When bicycles are left on the Mall they shall be left only in bicycle racks
designated for public use.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Am I the only one who was previously unaware you could get a ticket for this?

Am I the only one who kept trying to read the thread title over and over again in order to see if there was some way of saying, "Summons to court bike leaning a bike on a wall!" outloud that made it sound more coherent?

I feel like the thread title gestapo this week, but for Pete's sake.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by freedogger

I think you could prove that the bike wasn't "left on the mall". It was under your observation and within your control at all times. How else was the "officer" able to determine that it was your bike. If you had just left it on the wall, it would likely have been stolen.

Are there an adequate number of bike parking spots on the mall? Are they secure? Were they full? How far was the rack from the wall? What color was your bike, did the bike have a motor on it? If so it may be classed as a moped, not a bicycle. Does the officer understand all the differences between classes of bikes and motored bikes. Chances are he doesn't and won't be a credible witness when properly questioned. Ask as many questions of the officer as you can. The more he gets wrong, the less credible he is and higher chances of dissmissal. It helps to have evidence - pictures of the area, pictures of full bike racks or no bike racks. Figure out how to properly submit these as evdence.

The above is if you actually go before the court. Research discovery and what things you can demand they provide. Ask for dismissal if they don't get you this info. Ask for continuance - likely the offcer will have a lot of appearances scheduled for the same day. Continuances will put it to a day where he may be less likely to show up.

If you decide to follow this advice, post the time and courtroom # so I can show up and watch.

[Flames89]

By-laws in Calgary are out of control. I am surprised a somewhat-libertarian leaning city would be so over-regulated.

[Slava]

So you can pitch a tent in Olympic Plaza for a couple of months, but not lean your bicycle against a wall. Outrageous!

Sincerely,

Cory Morgan

[Barnes]

This is why you always use your kickstand.

[photon]

Originally Posted by schteve_d

What if the wall was leaning on your bike?

Tell them it was load bearing bike.

[bizaro86]

It's not a bike it's a piece of modern art.

Also, if you do end up going Matlock on him as described above, please do post the courtroom/time. I'd love to show up and watch that, and my office is close enough that I would.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Flames89

By-laws in Calgary are out of control. I am surprised a somewhat-libertarian leaning city would be so over-regulated.

Those despots! How dare they infringe my inalienable God-given right to dump my bicycle wherever I want on the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare in the city!

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by habs

I'm all for keeping society safe - but my bike was leaning up against a wall. The officer was smirking and loving every second of it. I kinda feel like this is our tax money being squandered away... why not just inform me of the bylaw and educate me? My court hearing is May 16th.

You missed the "should be catching REAL criminals" line.

[VladtheImpaler]

The leaning bike was a protest against ___________, and as such you are protected by the provisions of the Charter. You need to serve the City with notice of intent to proceed with a Charter challenge.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Those despots! How dare they infringe my inalienable God-given right to dump my bicycle wherever I want on the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare in the city!

Heheh, I appreciate how your life experience would be very different and would make some of the things we say on here silly, and your comment is kinda funny.

But the by-laws in Calgary are pretty nuts and in some ways invasive compared to other municipalities in Canada. A lot of them just seem to be cash grabs for a city council that never has enough money.

[photon]

I don't know, something like this makes sense as one of those things that seems a bit silly on a single case basis, but once you scale it up it could be a big issue.

One person doing it doesn't cause an issue, but dozens or hundreds might.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by photon

I don't know, something like this makes sense as one of those things that seems a bit silly on a single case basis, but once you scale it up it could be a big issue.

One person doing it doesn't cause an issue, but dozens or hundreds might.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. One probably doesn't matter but why does the OP get to be so special, why can't others "get away with it for just a minute" and then it gets much harder when more are doing it.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by photon

I don't know, something like this makes sense as one of those things that seems a bit silly on a single case basis, but once you scale it up it could be a big issue.

One person doing it doesn't cause an issue, but dozens or hundreds might.

I guess I would have to see the actual area of infraction before I could agree with this, but I'm open to the argument. Still, as the OP said, I would think a warning would be the way to go if he was being polite and such. I've never heard of this rule!

[InglewoodFan]

Serves you right for being a dirty Habs fan. (Hi Dave!)

I could see this being a result of the convention centre complaining to the city and getting a bit more bylaw attention. Not saying you were the target, they probably just had a stick up their ass about bikes on their pristine walls and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. One probably doesn't matter but why does the OP get to be so special, why can't others "get away with it for just a minute" and then it gets much harder when more are doing it.

I love watching Parking Wars when the people who get tickets start whining because "they were only in there for five minutes". The sign says no parking, it doesn't say no parking unless it's for five minutes. I also enjoy the "get a job" line, followed by, "I do have a job. It's to give you a ticket".

I'd never heard of the bike leaning law, but there are bike racks everywhere. Put your bike in there like a normal person. Would you get angry if a car was parked in a bike lane? That's how a pedestrian would feel if they had to walk around your bike.

[North East Goon]

Where does the madness end, would you lean your bike up against a Ferrari, a small child? Damn you heathen!

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Heheh, I appreciate how your life experience would be very different and would make some of the things we say on here silly, and your comment is kinda funny.

But the by-laws in Calgary are pretty nuts and in some ways invasive compared to other municipalities in Canada. A lot of them just seem to be cash grabs for a city council that never has enough money.

My location is a bold-faced lie. I was born and raised in Canada (just to a Russian family.) I did however live in China for several years, and ironically, in many ways, people are more free there (in terms of being able to drink beer on the street, cross streets when and where they want, etc.) Those sorts of small freedoms really appeal to me, so in some ways I am just being a devil's advocate in this thread. At the same time, things don't work very smoothly in China just because people take advantage of those small freedoms and do stupid and lazy things like parking their car in the middle of a very busy, crowded sidewalk.