More on Herndon's Bike Confiscation "plan"

From Ian Macdonald's blog

The couple had biked to Herndon and were looking to buy a town house in Herndon specifically because it was close to the trail. They chose to lock up their bike to the street sign at Branch Drive because it was close to their destination and was a solid secure object.

If Councilman Husch’s proposal becomes law, I wonder what their reaction would have been to coming back to find their bikes had been confiscated?

Comments

[Tk]

Silly me. I always thought chaining a bike to a street sign was against some law but from what I'm hearing is that it is commonly accepted practice. My understanding is is based on nothing specific just folklore I guess.

Or is it just one of a thousand of rules/ordinances that is never enforced?

[Contrarian]

DC law specifically gives cyclists the right to chain to any vertical object on the sidewalk. It's very much a local matter, check your local codes.

[Tom]

any vertical object except...
(a) Fire hydrants;
(b) Police and fire call boxes;
(c) electric traffic signal poles;
(d) Stanchions or poles located within bus zones or stands;
(e) Stanchions or poles located within twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of an intersection;
(f) Trees under ten inches (10 in.) in diameter.

Another interesting constraint is the 12-hour rule:

A person may secure a bicycle to a stanchion for a period of not more than the twelve (12) consecutive hours, by means of a lock or similar device, in accordance with the requirements of §1209.2