Alexandria Reconsiders Bicycle Registration

City leaders in Alexandria are moving to end longstanding regulations requiring bicycle owners to register their bikes with the city, and pay a fee.

Back in 1963, city leaders adopted a city code that required all bicycle users to register with the city and pay a 25 cent registration fee. If that person sold the bike, a ten cent transfer fee applied.

Deputy City Attorney Chris Spera says it was a city code for a different era.

"The requirement in city code dates back to a much earlier time when bicycles were more rare," Spera says. "They were more like cars than they are today. Having a bicycle was a big deal."

Now city leaders are reconsidering that code as they look at bicycle regulation in Alexandria.

"The need for local registration of something like a bicycle is probably no longer necessary," Spera says. "If an owner is concerned about his or her bicycle being stolen and being able to track it, there is a National Bike Registry that serves that function."

City Council members are expected to review recommendations in the spring.