Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass demonstrates how easy it is to register your bicycle at the launch of 529 Garage in June 2016 – photo 250News

Prince George, B.C. – Another opportunity to register your bicycle in Prince George with the digital bicycle registration reporting and recovery network, 529 Garage.

The program was launched in Prince George last year to combat the increasing number of bicycle thefts in the community.

“Since the beginning of May, police and volunteers have registered more than 200 bikes in our community and have scheduled many more events throughout this summer,” says Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass.

He says they will be out at the following locations starting tonight.

• Wednesday May 17 – 5-8 p.m. – Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park (band shell)
• Wednesday May 24 – 4:30-8:30 p.m. – Otway Recreational Area (parking lot)
• Saturday May 27 – 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Otway Recreational Area (parking lot)

Updated lists of events, times and locations will be posted at www.princegeorgercmp.ca.

Douglass says registration only takes around five minutes and includes ownership details, serial number and photos of the bike.

If a bike is stolen, he says that information can easily be distributed to other registered riders through an alert feature on the smart phone app. It can also easily be sent to both the police and insurance companies.

Douglass says police hope to register 2000 bikes in Prince George this summer.

Earlier this month, 250News reported that between January 1 of this year and the end of April, 33 bikes had been reported stolen to the Prince George RCMP.

From 2013 to the end of 2016, 994 bikes were stolen (see previous story here).