Municipality removes abandoned bicycles from Szeged

Removal warning label on an abandoned bicycle in downtown Szeged. Photo: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify

The municipality of Szeged ordered the removal of bicycles left for months – or even years – in public areas in the city. The collection of abandoned bicycles started this week.

Deputy Mayor Sándor Nagy explained the details of the process and the removal for members of the press on Wednesday morning at Széchenyi Square. According to the decree passed by the general assembly, the removal of abandoned bicycles in the city area will now be continuous.

"The general assembly decided that similarly to the way we introduced the removal of junk cars a few years ago, which took up space in the public area, practically caused a parking problem, and did not contribute to the cityscape, we will now also introduce the removal of junk bicycles," explained Sándor Nagy. "A sticker is placed on the bicycle, notifying the owner that it has been here for a very long time and that the bicycle is in remarkably bad condition, and if he does not take it or register for it, the public area inspectors will take it away, obviously with the proper paperwork," he added.

The mayor's office received numerous comments from the public about the junk bikes. In addition to spoiling the streetscape, it is also a problem that abandoned bicycles take up the city's limited number of bicycle racks.

Public area inspectors saw off the lock of the abandoned bicycle to be transported. Photo: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify

If a report about an abandoned bicycle is received, the public area inspectors check it out and, if they determine that it has probably been there for a long time, they place a colored sticker on the bike, which states when it was placed and when the warning expires. If the owner takes no action by then, it will be taken away, the deputy mayor explained the process.

Until now, almost two hundred abandoned bicycles have been counted all over Szeged.