Police Issued 202 Bike Citations Between April and Mid-October
Most citations were written during the first month of enforcement in April.
Photos
Somerville police issued 202 bicycle citations between April and Oct. 10, according to police, who spoke about the matter at a Ward 4 ResiStat meeting on Dec. 5.
The Somerville Police Department began issuing citations on April 11 in an effort to promote safety among bicyclists.
A chart presented at the Ward 4 meeting shows that most of the citations, nearly 80, were written in April, and in June fewer than 10 were written. September was the second highest month for bicycle citations, with over 40 written, based on the chart.
In the first month of issuing citations, from April to May, police wrote about 87 bike citations, compared to 1300 traffic citations for motorists during that same time period.
The issue of bicycle safety is at the forefront if cyclists minds after a biker in Boston was killed on Dec. 6 when he collided with a tractor-trailer. It was Boston's fifth bicycle death of the year, and it happened less than a month after the previous fatal bike accident in that city.
More on recent bicycle issues in Somerville
Arrested Bicyclist Calls Sign Enforcement 'Draconian and Petty'
Police Cruisers Chase Bicyclist, Make First Bicycle Violation Arrest
Police Have Issued 87 Bicycle Citations Since Enforcement Began in April
Traffic Violating Somerville Bicyclists Get Mostly Verbal Warnings
Somerville Police Crack Down on Bicycle-Riding Traffic Scofflaws
As Planned, Somerville Gets More Bike Parking
Ivan
9:14 am on Monday, December 10, 2012
Better headline.... Somerville Police Assist Mayor Curtatone With Revenue Collection Seeing How the CIty is $94.7 Million In Debt.
LSG
9:40 am on Monday, December 10, 2012
Considering how lethal the potential consequences of bicycle traffic violations are, I would prefer to see much stronger enforcement efforts.
Benjamin Mako Hill
1:10 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
As a daily cyclist, I'm always glad to see resources going into making cycling in the city safer for everybody. It's also great to see the city taking cycling, and its challenges, more seriously.
Sand Man
1:50 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
All well and good...but the sidewalk cycling in the central business districts hasn't ceased at all--and you can put the blame squarely on City Hall's failure to wage an effective and far-reaching public safety campaign.
The video footage clearly demonstrates this....