Complaints over rental bikes throughout Dallas have been growing each month since the city started taking them, nearly tripling from November to December.
And complaints this month are on pace to double those from December.
The City of Dallas has yet to pass any regulations regarding bike sharing, but a decision could be made as early as March.
Until then, city officials said, citizens can make complaints through Dallas 311, a non-emergency line where issues like blight, graffiti, and litter are reported.
According to 311, the department started accepting calls regarding “bike clutter” in September.
The department said most complaints are for obstruction of sidewalks.
Below are the number of total complaints made up to last Friday.
|
Month |
Number of Complaints |
|
September 2017 23 October 2017 28 November 2017 50 December 2017 145 January 2018 (so far) 77 |
Right now, January is on pace to end with 265 complaints, which would almost double December’s numbers.
When it comes to complaints made through the 311 app, the department said that 74 have been filed since October 31, 2017.
Councilman Adam Medrano represents much of the downtown area and said that the growing number of complaints isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I love when people call 311," Medrano said. "It actually helps the city and staff come up with solutions to issues."
Medrano sits on the committee that will weigh bike-share regulations in a few months, and he said the more feedback, the better.
“I think it’s gotten out of hand with the number of bikes that are on the street,” Medrano said. “But this is good information for us to work with.”
Councilmembers said they’ll likely pass bike-sharing rules that regulate how many bikes companies can put in certain areas or where they must park them.
Plano is still weighing its options when it comes to regulations, but the town of Highland Park has already made up its mind.
This week, the town started enforcing an ordinance that was passed last year, which allows municipal services to impound rental bikes found within city limits at the end of the day.
Bike-sharing companies must pay fees as high as $100 to get the bikes out, and they can be auctioned off by the town if they're not collected within 15 days.
To report any bike rental issues in Dallas, call 311 or use the 311 app.