By Emily Wood
 
March 5, 2010
 
MEDFORD, Ore. - The city of Medford is putting the brakes on mandatory bicycle licenses.
 
Bicycle registration is now voluntary and completely free. On Thursday, the Medford City Council repealed an ordinance requiring all bikes to have a license, and repealed a $195 fine if people did not have a license.
 
Medford Police asked the city council for the repeal because it was difficult to enforce and many people did not know about it. Police say only one or two citations were written a year.
 
Some bicyclists say they are not interested in registering their bike and do not think it will help locate it if stolen. However, police are encouraging bicycle owners to register their bikes, that way they have a record of the bike's serial number, make and color to identify it.