Youth ticketed in safety event that some fear will dissuade kids from biking to
school

Published Friday, May 20, 2005, in the Palo Alto Weekly

Crackdown on cycling violations causes consternation

Youth ticketed in safety event that some fear will dissuade kids from
biking to school

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.


[BATN: See also:

Palo Alto police void 8th grader's cycling harrassment ticket
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/24521

Letters: Bicycle crackdown comforting -- impound bikes!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/24509

Palo Alto paternalistic bicycle crackdown yields 200+ tickets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/24410 ]