May 20, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Crackdown on cycling violations causes consternation

by Alexandria Rocha

In a citywide crackdown on bicyclists who violate the rules of the road, Palo Alto police cited more than 200 bikers last week. Many were the city's youngest riders.

Sgt. Steve Herrera, supervisor of the Palo Alto police traffic team, said the campaign to curb common cycling violations, such as youths without helmets or bikers riding against traffic, came in response to numerous complaints from community members that bicyclists are ignoring the law.

The crackdown was timed to occur a week before Thursday's national Bike to Work and School day. Herrera said youth cyclists were not specifically targeted, but officers were posted near school sites throughout the campaign week.

Over the five days, Herrera said the most common tickets written were for bicycling on the wrong side of the street, youths not properly wearing helmets or not wearing them at all.

Herrera said last week's crackdown was the first of its kind. He also said that although most residents seem pleased with the police action, some are upset that youth riders were cited instead of being warned, saying the tickets will likely discourage students from bicycling to school.

"We are trying to get people to bike to school and work as well, but we want them to get there safely," Herrera said. "It doesn't help to have a bike-to-school day if a percentage of the kids don't arrive there safely."

Some students, however, said the crackdown was inappropriate.

"They're enforcing a law they've never enforced before," said Samantha Bromberg, 14, a Palo Alto High School freshman who rides her bike regularly to the Embarcadero-Road campus. She did not receive a ticket during last week's campaign.

"If they really wanted to enforce this, they would be out here every day. We're old enough to know we're suppose to wear a helmet," Bromberg added.

Although police stand by the campaign, the week of citations did not go completely smooth. On the fourth day, Herrera ticketed an eighth-grader for riding his bike with one hand, which turned out to be legal. The officer quickly withdrew the citation.

Some teenagers also said that citing students for riding on the wrong side of the road doesn't fix the real problem. Paly freshman Tyler Blake, who bikes about twice a week, said it's common for students to ride against traffic on the Embarcadero Road underpass because it's less dangerous.

"It seems safer to cross where it's marked and go down the wrong side, than going down the right side and crossing where it's not as well marked later," said Blake, who also was not cited last week. "That seems like a bigger risk than just going the wrong way."

Blake's point reflects the work of various bicycling groups focused on the larger issue -- creating safe bike routes. Since Palo Alto was recently recognized by the American League of Bicyclists as a top-notch biking community for the third year in a row, their work is a matter of fine-tuning.

Kathy Durham of the Safe Routes to School Task Force said after the huge dip in student bikers in the mid-'80s, the percentage of students taking two wheels to school is again on the rise. This is cause for heightened attention on the routes to Palo Alto's schools, she said.

The mission of Safe Routes is to help the flow of communication between the schools and the city of Palo Alto's police and public works departments. So far, committee members have helped create handbooks on safe biking procedures that will be given to parents through the individual school sites this fall.

The Safe Routes group has also worked closely with the City/School Traffic Safety Committee on seeing through plans for fixing various cycling trouble spots. One location Durham said should be a priority is the Churchill Avenue and Alma Street intersection.

She said undefined bike lanes make it difficult for cyclists to turn left through that intersection.

"You can't go back to scratch and draw the street the way it should have been done, but you do your best and you encourage kids to make smart decisions," Durham added. "A lot of work has already been done, and it has enabled us to have many more bikers in Palo Alto than across California or the country."

The Palo Alto Unified School District has also offered students an early bike education program for a number of years. In kindergarten through second-grade, an organization called Safe Moves from Los Angeles starts the program off with pedestrian safety presentations.

In third-grade, students hear about bike safety from their teachers, the local fire department and members from the Stanford University Cycling Club. Those lessons are enforced again in the fifth- and sixth-grades.

As far as future crackdowns on bicyclists, Herrera said he doesn't know if any more pointed campaigns are planned. Regular enforcement, however, will continue, he added.

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