# Post

A Post is a bike rack, public fixture, or other immovable object that is not camera-monitored. The term "Post" is short for "Hitching Post," which historically were fixed objects outside of establishments to which your horse could be tethered.

Posts are typically less secure parking spots than Stables because they are not monitored by a security camera. If your vehicle is stolen while parked at a Post, you will probably not be able to get video footage of the theft occurring, reducing your chances at getting paid out when filing an insurance claim.

# Public fixture requirement

All Posts must be public or quasi-public property. This means that bike racks, street signs, and other public fixtures qualify.

# Fences

Although many people lock their vehicles to fences, fences usually do not qualify as Posts because they are often private property. Locking your vehicle to someone's private property is risky, and may cause the property owner to have your vehicle removed.

# Trees

Although some consider trees to be reasonable secure objects to lock up to, most theft insurance policies do NOT consider trees to be "immovable objects" and therefore will not reimburse their policyholders if their vehicle was stolen while locked up to a tree. For this reason, trees (or other organic/plant-based objects) do not quality as Posts.

# Traffic Signs

Some cities frown upon locking your vehicle to a traffic sign. Before you chose to map a Post, please consider the accepted norms and laws in your city.

Given the disagreement about whether traffic signs should be used as parking spots, we strongly recommend against mapping them unless they are camera-monitored and qualify as Stables. This is because the purpose of the map is to help others find secure parking; if the map is littered with Posts that are just traffic signs, it will make it more difficult for other members of the community to find suitable parking.

# Respect for others

We strongly encourage all riders to be considerate of others when adding Posts. Before adding a Post, ask yourself: if someone locked their vehicle here, would it inconvenience someone else? If the answer is "Yes", please do not map that Post.

For example, consider a park bench that's bolted to the ground. Is it possible to loop a chain lock through it? Perhaps. Would locking your vehicle to that bench prevent or inconvenience someone from sitting on that bench? Probably. Be kind and respectful to others, and don't map that park bench as a Post.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before mapping the Post:

• Would I block a pedestrian walkway if I parked here?
• Would parking here prevent someone else from using that object for it's intended purpose (for objects that aren't bike racks)?
• Would parking here block the flow of traffic in a bike lane or street?
• Could the object be more easily cut than a decent bike lock?

If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," then we ask that you please don't map that Post.