The Department of Recreation and Parks, which last week suspended its “Ride Around the Reservoir” program after 40 bikes were stolen by teenagers, had previously ordered 30 new bikes, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

“If they come in and can be assembled in time, it may be a possibility” that the popular summer program could resume, Gwendolyn Chambers told The Brew this afternoon. “Right now we cannot say for sure.”

The bike banditry, which took place at Druid Hill Park on Memorial Day, was attributed to a group of rowdy youths, some of whom had been kicked out of the Druid Hill swimming pool earlier.

“A group of male patrons were violating the pool rules, including running, horseplay, jumping into and pushing others into the pool. Staff and the assigned police officer worked to remove that group of patrons,” Chambers said, confirming previous accounts of the incident.

At least some of the teenagers walked up a hill to the staging area of the bike program. Overpowering three Rec and Parks staff members, a group of about 50 young people stole an equal number of bicycles.

No Bikes Voluntarily Returned

Although the police officer assigned to the pool had “called for back up” to assist him at the pool, according to Chambers, police were not at the scene during the bike thefts and made no arrests.

Police recovered 12 bikes after canvassing the immediate area.

Since then, Chambers said, no additional bikes have been recovered or voluntarily returned to the agency. The stolen bikes include bright-blue beach cruisers and blue children’s bikes. Each were marked with a numbered sticker.

Addressing widespread rumors that Rec and Parks does not require teenagers to be accompanied by an adult at the Druid Hill pool, Chambers said that children 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21 years old.

“This is the policy at all pools,” she said.