Houston's axing an ignored law
Did you forget to register your bike? So did everyone else
By CAROLYN FEIBEL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 27, 2008, 10:53PM

Mayor Bill White breaks this law. Thousands of innocent children could be implicated. You, dear reader, may be in violation and not even know it.

The city finally is cracking down on bicyclists' rampant disregard of the registration law — by getting rid of the law.

City officials and bike enthusiasts all seem to agree that it's a silly, outdated ordinance that is all but impossible to enforce.

The City Council could vote to strike the law from the books on Wednesday.

The law requires owners to register their two-wheelers at a local fire station for $1 and place a little license sticker on the bike.

"This is something that I think is sporadically done," said Randy Zamora, the city's chief prosecutor. "And I think the firemen have better things to do."

Why the law was passed in 1968 remains a mystery, though city officials guess it was meant to deter theft and track stolen bicycles.

That's unnecessary because bicycles have unique serial numbers, said Alessandro De-Souza, assistant manager of the Bike Barn in Rice Village.

"People are just not willing to do it," DeSouza said. "There's actually no point."

The ordinance also requires bicycle shops to make a monthly report to the chief of police, listing the bicycles they've sold, and who bought them.

Lee Neathery, co-owner of all six Bike Barn stores in the Houston area, said she had never heard of that provision.

"That's the funniest thing I've heard," she said. "It's almost like (they think) they're dealing with some sort of drug or nuclear weapons."

Neathery said some older customers do know about the registration process and have done it, but "I don't know anyone under about 75 years old who has their bike registered."

White, an avid cyclist, has not registered his bike, his spokesman confirmed Monday.

Police officers do still occasionally write tickets for unregistered bikes, Zamora said. Since April 2006, officers have written 206 citations. The fine is only $5, but includes $67 in court costs. Zamora said he doesn't enforce the law.

"Most of the time the officer doesn't come (to testify), or we dismiss it," he said.

Discarding the bike registration law is part of an ongoing overhaul of the city's permit process, said Alfred Moran, the director of Administration & Regulatory Affairs.

Houston issues 260 permits out of nine separate departments, but officials are working to streamline the application process. The city might build a one-stop permit center and is working to get all permit forms and applications online.

Michael Soliz, a salon owner who owns two bikes, called the law "ridiculous."

"Please. It's not a car," the Tanglewood resident said. "If people haven't gotten a chain on it, or that bar, then they deserve to get it stolen."