Should we Train Fort Collins Police in the Principles of Vehicular Cycling?

First Published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan Feb. 7, 2011

My favorite story of the law and bicyclists in Fort Collins is of the time 1½ years ago, when a Fort Collins police officer stopped the then-National Collegiate Cycling champion and issued a warning for what the officer thought was an illegal left turn.

The national champion, experienced bicycle commuter and experienced bike handler was headed to work on North College Avenue, turning north from the right-most left turn lane on Cherry Street. The officer handed him a pre-printed form from www.Colobikelaw.com. The form explained how a cyclist should make a left turn by keeping to the far right, crossing with the light and repositioning himself on the far right side of the intersection to await the through light.

The officer didn't realize that the form he handed out mentioned two other legal left turn options available to the cyclist, one of which includes the use of the left turn lane, the choice of this expert cyclist.
The option identified by the police officer is the technique that we teach 12-year-olds, inexperienced cyclists or anyone in a busy intersection. At Cherry Street and College Avenue, there are two left-turn lanes, and experienced cyclists should use the right-most left-turn lane, which leads them right to the bike lane as they complete the turn.

Other oft-repeated anecdotes among cyclists are those involving officers responding to minor bike-car crashes in which the officer asks the cyclist, "Would you like me to file a report?" The correct answer to this question in all cases is, "Yes, absolutely." But this is a question that shouldn't even be asked in a bicycle community like ours.

Since 2007, the San Francisco Police Department has used a 10-minute training video to instruct police officers on the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists. Produced in cooperation with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the video informs officers that cyclists should avoid the "door zone" near parked cars and that cyclists should take and "own the lane" on narrow streets. The video further clarifies that bikes belong in traffic, not on the sidewalk. The film explains that officers are required to file an incident report when cyclists report aggression by a motorist or any time a bike-car crash results in injury or property damage. Officers should not dissuade a cyclist from making such a report.

Pueblo and Longmont have done, or are doing, similar trainings. League Cycling instructors in Fort Collins could conduct trainings with Fort Collins Police Services. It would take just 20 minutes to show officers the film, "Bikes Belong In Traffic - SFPD Training Video," available on www.youtube.com, followed by a brief question and answer session. That should be enough to address recent revisions to Colorado Bicycle Law, dispel "safe" bicycling myths, explain what to expect from safe cyclists and identify dangerous bicycling behaviors in Fort Collins.

When can we start?

Let’s Take Bicycle Scofflaws to School, not the Woodshed

First published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan Dec. 6, 2010

My friends at the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers use a technique described by CSU Professor George Wallace as “calling on the authority of the resource” to try and convince people to respect the environment.  A similar strategy might work to get scofflaw cyclists to respect the rules of the road:  passers-by in Old Town could advise them that riding their bike on the sidewalk is inappropriate, or law-abiding cyclists could remind wrong-way riders that “we just don’t do that” in Fort Collins.

The problem is that unlike an encounter with a hiker on the trail it’s hard to have a quiet conversation with a scofflaw bicycle rider. So we need to get those bicyclists into a room where we can talk to them.  How do we do that? 

Most adult bicyclists are also motorists.  They know to stop at stop signs, obey the speed limit and not drive down the street the wrong way.  But just as some motorists roll ever-so-slowly through stop signs on quiet neighborhood streets, most cyclists are lax about respecting the rules of the road.  They think that some rules aren’t really important, that they don’t apply to them at that particular moment and that the consequences of disobeying the law are minimal (which is often true).

So all we need to do is enforce the law, right?  Unfortunately that’s not likely to happen under the current system.  Over a six-month period ending in September Fort Collins police issued 176 citations for bicycle violations.  Roughly half were for riding on the sidewalk in Old Town and most of the others were for running stop signs and lights.  Three tickets were for riding without lights at night after the cyclist was already stopped for running a stop sign.   Even if we increased these numbers ten-fold we’d collect enough in fines to hire half of a police officer and we would have alienated a lot of cyclists.

A “diversion program” for bicyclists who get tickets might be more effective.  Tempe and Tucson, Arizona have done this as have many university towns in California.  The idea is to “divert” scofflaws with tickets from the court system by putting them into a classroom.  As explained by the highly respected Victoria Transport Institute “such programs are popular because they emphasize safety rather than punishment and help develop cooperation among police, parents, and bicycle safety advocates. Scout troops, school groups and parents often voluntarily attend the safety workshops.”

Diversion programs are often operated with increased police surveillance for a brief period, as at the beginning of the CSU semester in August, when several hundred tickets might be issued.  The ticket is waived when the bicyclist attends a two-hour bicycle safety class.  Such a program might be just what we need to get people talking about how to be safer bicyclists and better community members.

Rule of the week:  Use the right-most lane that serves your destination.

What is YOUR Bicycle Advisory Committee Doing?

In case you are wondering,the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) published the following "draft" work plan in their October 2009 minutes. The work plan is for 2010.
If you would like to address comments to the BAC you may do so at BAC@FCGov.com.

You may also view minutes of past meetings by clicking on this link.

DRAFT - BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WORK PLAN 2010
The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) is a subcommittee of the Transportation Board.
It is composed of representatives of various city boards and commissions and community
organizations that have a stake in bicycling. The BAC reviews and provides
recommendations regarding bicycle capital improvements, bicycle policies, and Bicycle
Plan priorities. The overall goal of the BAC is to promote safe, efficient bicycling in Fort
Collins and the surrounding area.
After examining the Bicycle Plan and considering needs of the various interest groups
represented, the BAC has established the following goals:

1. Bicycle Safety – Work with City departments, bicycling advocacy groups, law
enforcement agencies and other interest groups in the community to promote bicycle
safety education programs on the rules of the road and sharing the road for motorists and bicyclists of all ages.

2. Bicycling Encouragement – Continue to develop and implement innovative programs,
campaigns and events to encourage increased bicycle travel

3. Bicycle-related Economic Development – Use the existence of high quality bicycle
facilities, a robust bicycling culture, bicycle sporting events and enjoyable recreational biking to attract employers, new residents, businesses and visitors.

4. Bicycling and Household Affordability – Provide a safe, efficient bicycle infrastructure to facilitate bicycling as an affordable transportation option for low income households and non-drivers.

5. Bicycle Facilities - Identify innovative interim solutions for improving design
deficiencies and/or maintenance of important bicycle travel routes to assure a safer, more efficient bicycling environment.
6. Bicycling Performance – Establish performance measures for bicycle programs and
facilities.

Discussion:
It was suggested that the work plan as presented doesn’t really reflect the importance of how bicycling fits into many goals and policies of the City. It was felt we should go farther and tie this to overall city policies relative to environmental and community benefits.

After some discussion it was decided to add a paragraph from page 3 of the 2008 Bike Plan to put these above goals into context relative to their value to the community.
Further discussion focused on the lack of law enforcement issues in our work plan, though it was pointed out that enforcement is present in item number 1.

Kathleen Bracke & Dave Kemp suggested that they invite the Police Department to come and join us in a BAC meeting to respond to questions about law enforcement relative to bicycling.

Further discussion focused on just what type of enforcement is necessary and the choice police have to make in enforcing bicycling violations versus more serious violations of the law that have higher levels of harm.

Some suggested that education be the focus, as suggested in item one to include law enforcement. Chairman Gould suggested that the discussion was moving into the area of action items under the above major points. As we analyze the above goals we’ll eventually want to enumerate action items or activities that will come up as specific agenda items for the BAC later.

Fort Collins Police Respond to Complaints of Lack of Enforcement for Bicycle Scofflaws

One big happy family?!
The image shows CSU Corporal Scott Anthony with Chris Gaughan (Vice Chair of the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee), and Colin Pinney (Bike Co-op volunteer and former Co-op board member) on the CSU campus.


In response to a recent citizen cyclist's complaint about Fort Collins police officers not stopping and ticketing local cyclists for breaking the law City Manager Darin Atteberry shared the following response from Police Services staff member Lieutenant Szakmeister.

"Thank you for taking the time and making the effort regarding your observations on the enforcement of bicycle laws by Fort Collins Police Services. You are 100 per cent correct in that these actions by bicyclists are a violation of traffic safety law.

You ask, “Why do Fort Collins police officers treat bicyclists differently?” It is not a matter of treating individuals differently but rather enforcing laws that could have a greater impact on the public good. Just last week an officer stopped and cited two bicyclists for their bicycle violations. The officer made an observation that their actions constituted a greater danger. By the way, the officer’s sergeant received an angry phone call complaining that the police are “picking” on bicyclists.

While I may not be able to satisfy your concerns, I can tell you that police officers are entitled to exercise discretion with regard to the many traffic violations they see in the course of their duties everyday. For instance, when an officer is working a speed zone with radar, the officer many times chooses to take enforcement action when the driver exceeds ten or more miles over the speed limit. From reading your message, this may be considered dishonest or corrupt. If an officer stopped you for going over the speed limit by 1 mile per hour, he would be justified in doing so according to the letter of the law. But is it the right or ethical thing to do? I would propose to you that it would not be right or nor ethical as a general rule. Nor would it be practical.

Officers throughout their work day attempt to stop people for what they consider to be serious violations that might lead to dire consequences, similar to what Officer Deyen told you. If officers stopped everyone for every violation they see and write tickets to each violator, let alone bicyclists, it would not be reasonable or practical.

That is why the law allows officers to exercise discretion in the exercise of their duties to enforce the law. The courts have long held to this as well. It is not a matter of being dishonest or corrupt, but ethical and correct. Being sworn to uphold the law does not mean that each and every observable violation must be acted upon.

I would agree with you that if the officers are not busy taking care of other matters, officers should enforce bicycle laws as well as other laws. A discussion will take place with these officers, not as a matter of discipline, but as a reminder that citizens like you are cognizant of what’s going on out there and that there is an expectation that officers take action when possible or expedient.

Thanks again for your inquiry."

Creating a Bicycle Culture

By Anthony Ben'jammin' DeNardo III

[This Soapbox was published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan Monday, December 15, 2008; Anthony sits on the Board of the Fort Collins Bike Co-op]

We've built a gold level bicycle friendly community according to the League of American Bicyclists. But motorists killed two bicycle riders - in bike lanes - on city streets just four months apart. Why?

Perhaps we’ve failed to create the culture that goes with our bicycle infrastructure? Italians have a reputation as being bad drivers yet Italy is considered to have a great bicycle culture. Almost everyone rides a bike: small children go to school on their mother’s bike and the elderly ride all the time. In Italy, motorists see bicycles everywhere and they respect them since the cyclist on the road could be their grandmother.

We promote a world-class bicycle infrastructure in Fort Collins and, while the bike plan speaks to education and enforcement issues, they are not addressed very aggressively. In short, we’ve no plan to build a bicycle culture. It’s time we begin to move from a “car culture” to a “car, bicycle and pedestrian culture.” Here’s one idea on how to start.

Police Services moved to Timberline Road last year at the same time that City Council approved a two-year lease for the Fort Collins Bike Co-op at the Poudre Valley Creamery. Until last winter Police Services collected, tracked, impounded, and handled all abandoned and stolen bikes in the community. Those tasks are now all handled by volunteers at the Bike Co-op.

Today the City is saving the cost of one full-time equivalent staff person ($38,000 average) plus benefits ($15,000?) NOT counting police cruiser and officers’ time to retrieve bikes. So the Bike Co-op is saving taxpayers around $60,000 annually. Why not use some of that savings to help create a bike culture?

The Co-op could work with the City Bicycle Coordinator to develop and take bicycle safety seminars to public schools. The City’s Bike Library fleet could be used for field trips on the Poudre Trail. Parents and educators should be made a part of the process since most are motorists and can benefit from this cultural education as well.

Fifteen to twenty thousand new people move to Fort Collins every year. Most are CSU students and many have never lived in a “bike town” before. CSU needs a bike “coordinator” who, in cooperation with the City’s bike coordinator, can teach those newcomers what life in “bike town” is like: be predictable, use lights at night, stop at stop signs and lights, go the right way in the bike lane, and more.

City and CSU Police need to become engaged in helping to create this culture. They don’t have time or staff, they might argue. But some of the friendliest bike towns in the US have police forces that undertake “sting” operations to enforce cyclists’ stopping at stop signs and using lights at night for several days a year, namely at the beginning of the academic year. Maybe City Council could help them find the time.

And maybe now is the time to quit talking about what a great bicycle town this is and to start creating the appropriate culture.