One of the largest operations to remove abandoned bicycles was launched by the Cleaning Department of the Municipality of Athens on Thursday, November 20, in the center of Athens.
The Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, stated: “In the 1st and 2nd Municipal Communities, we will remove approximately 400 bicycles. We will then expand the action to all neighborhoods, aiming to remove 1,000 abandoned bicycles by the end of the year. We are freeing up valuable parking spaces, reducing pollution sources and improving accessibility to public spaces. We are making small but substantial interventions that upgrade everyday life and the image of our city.”
For her part, Deputy Mayor for Cleanliness and Recycling Roxani Bey noted: “It is something we have been fighting for quite some time. We put up for auction the 1,800 old bicycles that we had collected in the warehouse. Thus, the space was opened and we are currently proceeding with the removal of registered abandoned bicycles, for which the process has been completed. Our intention is to have carried out a mass cleaning throughout Athens, freeing up parking spaces and at the same time cleaning up a source of pollution and disorder in the city.”
What is the procedure followed for abandoned bicycles
The following steps are followed to remove abandoned bicycles:
- Location
- Recording-marking. Attaching a special sticker after 15 days of being in the same place.
- Finding the owner through the Ministry of Transport.
- Ministry of Finance & Security Services Notification.
- Registered notification to the owner.
- Removal after 20 days from the marking, as long as the bicycle remains in the same place.
- Notification to the Department of Motor Vehicles & Delivery Planning
The action to remove abandoned bicycles will continue in the coming days at an intensive pace in all municipal communities of the Municipality of Athens.
