Huntington City Hall offers a program residents can use to help recover lost or stolen bicycles.

Interested cyclists can stop by City Hall from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year round, in room 20 in the finance department to register bikes for $1.

Applicants must provide the serial number on their bike and the bike’s size, make, model, color and speed to obtain a license plate and a registration card.

In the event of a lost or stolen bike, Huntington police will crosscheck reports with the information given to City Hall.

The licenses do not expire, but there is a finite number of registration plates. Communications Director for the city of Huntington Bryan Chambers said an incident in the 1960s required bikes to have licenses.

The service soon halted due to a lack of interest.

Boxes of these vintage plates were found, inspiring those in City Hall to jumpstart the program again.

Chambers said with the emergence of the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health, bike lanes and other trails throughout the city parks, it was time to bring the program back.

A meeting is planned to rewrite some of the legislation passed in the 60s, making this program completely optional for bike commuters. Although this remains voluntary for some, commercial bikes will need licenses to operate within the city.

In addition to stopping by City Hall, interested cyclists can find registration forms at events throughout the year, including various 5ks, Rec Center events and Fit Fest.

William Izzo can be contacted at [email protected].