By Roy York

Beth Phillips has been called a number of names after impounding an illegally-parked bike, but only once has she seen a student jump into her pick-up truck and try to rescue his wheels from lockup.

Phillips has been a bike-patrol officer for UK Parking and Transportation Services since 2000, and next month her duties will shift when UK implements a new policy to enforce campus bicycle regulations.

On Oct. 1, students will be required to have registered their bikes with the university and attach a registration sticker to the frame. The process is free but mandatory for any student or faculty member using bike racks on university property.

Chrissie Balding Tune, Parking and Transportation Services spokeswoman, said her office had registered more than 2,000 bikes as of Monday.

After Oct. 1, students not using bike racks, or who do not register but continue to park on campus, will be given warnings and fines. After the third offense, the bike will be impounded and students will have to pay a $40 fee to have their bike returned. A storage fee of $2 per day will be added. Persistent offenders who are given more than six citations in a year will see their impound fee increase to $51.

Parking services currently only impounds bikes parked in areas that pose a fire hazard or impede handicap entrances. Phillips said she gets daily complaints concerning illegal parking outside of White Hall Classroom Building and has seen her fair share of angry students.

Phillips said the insults and angry students do not bother her. She said it comes with the job and she does not take it personally.

A large portion of impounded bikes are never claimed, Phillips said, and after three months those bikes are donated to foster homes or other charities.

Parking services impounded 12 bikes last week, but only five of those have been claimed, she said.

Tune said the registration will provide an alternative to impoundment in certain situations because parking services can simply call the owner of an illegally-parked bicycle and ask him or her to move it.

When students register, they are given a pamphlet with rules about parking and reasons for the registration. Benefits listed include gathering data about bike use on campus, educating students on the rules and increasing bicycle use in Lexington.

Tune said the move has shown to be a deterrent to bike theft at universities such as Penn State, which has had a 28-percent decline in thefts, and the University of Wisconsin, which has had a 20-percent decline.

“Since we dropped the fee, the response from the students has largely been positive,” Tune said.

Annie Williams, a business junior, said the registration process was quick and free, and she was happy to participate if it meant getting more bike racks on campus.

UK is bike friendly to a point, but “there is room for improvement that needs to be explored,” Williams said.

For students who have not registered, Tune said parking services will be at White Hall Classroom Building Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m., Thursday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. and at the Kentucky Clinic Thursday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.