An anti-theft plan that would see bikes automatically registered with police when purchased could be in place by next year, the chairman of the Toronto Cycling Committee says. The city is scrambling to keep up with an explosion in cycling.

A third person has been arrested as part of the bike theft investigation. Police said Wednesday that a 37-year-old woman was taken into custody.

"Thefts would go down drastically if everyone registered their bicycle," said Major Crime Unit Det. Izzy Bernardo. "We stop known thieves all the time with different bikes and run the serial numbers but the bikes never show up as stolen on the syste

Because of the significant quantity, police are looking to relocate the massive cache to a larger warehouse nearby. Visit www.torontopolice.on.ca for further details. Owners of the stolen bicycles must provide proof of ownership.

"I'm astonished," Supt. Ruth White told reporters outside a garage where police were executing one of the warrants in the morning. "I've never seen this in 30 years, that allegedly one individual can accumulate this many bicycles over this many years."

The lack of bike lanes in the redesign of Bloor St. from Church St. to Avenue Rd. flies in the face of provincial planning policies that compel cities to consider the safety of cyclists and ways of reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

It's not over yet. The investigation continues as a steady stream of tips comes in to Crime Stoppers, and more bikes are expected to be recovered, police said. Anyone who rented garage space to Kenk is being asked to contact police.

A police raid on a west end bike shop has led to a pleasant surprise for several GTA residents reunited with their allegedly stolen rides after a sting operation at the Bicycle Clinic.

The latest cache of more than 200 bicycles was discovered on Dovercourt Road in the city's west end. Police spent a part of Monday afternoon at the scene executing a search warrant. They expect to make more seizures in the weeks to come.

Toronto cyclists often describe their city as one of the bike theft capitals of North America, if not the world. But figures from lockmaker Kryptonite, says Toronto, unlike Philadelphia, Chicago and New York, is not even in North America's Top 10.