RideTHISbike Blog
Wednesday, 2 May 2018

Bike Parking At Jazzfest, a story of loss and recovery.
Bike recovery courtesy New Orleans Jazz Fest security staff If you're headed out to Jazz Fest, chances are that you've wondered what is the best way there. You could walk, drive and shuttle, take the streetcar, use a taxi/Lyft/Uber or pedicab but the best way to get there is by bicycle. There's free bicycle parking on the site. It's fenced in, monitored and readily available when you're ready to leave. It's also quite safe as you'll see here.

We have customers that fly in each year to attend the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Let's examine the case of one, "Mr. B" (after that famous local restaurant run by the Brennan family). When Mr B arrives, he rents bikes for everyone in his group from our French Quarter bicycle shop. They use the bikes to get to and from Jazz Fest as well as for transportation around the city. It gives them the freedom they crave to move about as they please at a reasonable price.

During JazzFest, they lock their bikes up on the festival grounds in the bicycle parking areas offered there at the Fair Grounds (the location for "Fest"). At the end of the final day of Weekend 1 of Fest, they discovered that one of the bikes had a flat (yes, we use Stan's premium bicycle tire sealant but flats are still possible).

Mr. B did everything right. He called us and reported the flat on our voice mail (it was well after closing time). He waited patiently for a taxi that would take the bike (none would because they made more money with passengers). Finally, he inquired with Fest security and was assured personally by the head honcho (Rob) that the bike would be fine there overnight. Rob told Mr. B that they'd watch the bike and that they'd make an appt for the bike to be picked up the following day.

On Monday, prior to opening, I listened to Mr. B's message. Shortly after we opened, Mr. B came in & explained everything again. He also gave me Rob's cell. I issued Mr. B a replacement bike and told him we'd take care of the bike at Fest. I called Rob and he asked me to call back after they do an inventory at 11 AM.

When I called Rob again, he said there was bad news. The bike was nowhere to be found. It must have been stolen; however, he'd review surveillance footage and call me back by Wednesday at the latest.

I called Mr. B with the bad news & explained that we'd have to charge for the loss of the bicycle. I then filed a police report online with the NOPD (the only way to file a stolen property report with the New Orleans PD) as well as a Stolen Bike report on Stolen Bikes NOLA's Facebook page.

Immediately, I received a confirmation email from the NOPD's online system containing a tracking number. The email also noted that I would be issued a case number once my report was approved. Strangely, it did not offer a means to update the report.

Fast forward 1 day.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I received a call from Rob. Apologizing profusely, he relayed great news. The bike was NOT stolen. It was still locked up in the bicycle parking area afterall. He knew it was our bike because he saw the picture of it that we posted on Stolen Bikes NOLA!

Although Rob felt guilty for the confusion, it's understandable that he didn't originally see our gray bike. The bicycle parking lot is a sea of gray police barricades on gray gravel surrounded by a big, gray chain-link fence. From a distance, the bike simply didn't stand out. It was only when discussing the "theft" in a security meeting that a staffer alerted Rob that the bike was still there.

Rob met me at the main gate of JazzFest. In no time, I had the bike and was on my way back to the shop. Mr. B was alerted and refunded. The bike was noted as RECOVERED on Stolen Bikes NOLA & BikeIndex.

As to updating the police report with the NOPD, we're at a standstill. As of this writing (Wednesday afternoon or Day 3), the NOPD have still not issued a case number for the report. Additionally, there appears to be no way to update the report online or otherwise. When an actual person answers at the appropriate numbers listed on the NOPD's website, we either get disconnected or are sent to the general phone tree for the City of New Orleans. Totally unhelpful.

I've very happy that we recovered the bike. We see MANY cyclists for JazzFest (locals & tourists alike) and are frequently asked if bike parking there is secure. While the report of a loss initially shook my confidence, the follow through displayed by Rob and his security team show that they're concerned about the property of fest-goers. I found them courteous, prompt and helpful and will continue to recommend the use of their free, on-site, bike parking.