WTF? Is the Tucson Police Department finally getting on board with bicycle safety?
Readers of this Website know that I have been very critical of TPD since I started it back in 2007. In fact, the whole reason I did start it was my frustration at TPD officers who were not citing motorists for collisions with cyclists that were demonstrably the fault of the motorist. Over time I also became a critic of their failure to distinguish assaults on cyclists from the several hundred run-of-the-mill assaults that occur every month.
And something that really irked me was their using State safety grant money to pay themselves overtime to stake out likely four-way stops and ticket cyclists who didn’t put a foot down at the stop sign.
So now comes word via www.tucsonvelo.com, first, that TPD will actually be using this year’s safety grant to target wrong-way riders and cyclists riding at night without lights. That is a huge improvement in my opinion.
But now this, also from tucsonvelo:
In addition to the information in the previous story, Skeenes said they are using plain-clothes bicycle officers who are are being followed by an unmarked police car looking for drivers who violate the three-foot law.
Skeenes said bicycle officers often get more room than regular cyclists, but said cars do pass too closely occasionally.
According to Skeenes, the bicycle officers often can not catch up to cars. The unmarked police car allows the vehicles to be caught to cite the driver.
I’ve been pleading for this kind of thing for years now (one example), but never thought it would actually happen.
Seems there’s been a real shift in TPD’s attitude. If they follow through, I salute them. They have historically been the one seemingly insurmountable hurdle in dragging Tucson into the class of truly “bike friendly” communities.
–Erik Ryberg
August 12th, 2010 at 11:33 am
who supplied the grant that made this happen? I don’t think it’s something new from TPD, I think someone else just signed the check
August 12th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Mickey, good question! If one traces it back, it’s probably (but perhaps not — Red Star could be mistaken, OMG!) federal grant funding administered by AZ DPS to TPD. Where, exactly the grant is coming from doesn’t seem to be explored by Old Pueblo news media. That may be a bad thing. One caveat to keep in mind is the “one and done” syndrome with regard to grants. Not to mention careerism. It’s Red Star’s understanding that checks have been put in place by grantors so that “one and done” and careerism are not the problem they used to be.
It’s great that TPD went after the grant (some TPD executive had to have said “Yes, let’s go for it” and signed off on the application. Whether that action was transitory, in the heat of the moment, or driven by “Protect and Serve,” we can’t know…grants are kinda like internships, mock trials for lawyers, post doc appointments…experiment and learning.
Red Star doesn’t thing that grant-funding necessarily results in a sea-change…
August 12th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
oops!
Red Star meant to type “Red Star doesn’t think that grant-funding necessarily results in a sea-change…”
August 12th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Bravo…I commend the Tucson Police Department for rolling up their sleeves to do the work needed to identify and stop violators of the “3 foot passing law”. I hope they will use their best judgment in determing whether the stop should be used as an opportunity to educate and/or ticket the motorist.
The police department here at Florida State University conducted a similar activity where they marked off a three foot space alongside where the cyclist would ride and cars entering the space were stopped, the motorist was issued a warning and literature was given to them on the law here in Florida.
All this talk about the law being unenforceable, hogwash. Energetic and committed law enforcement agencies will find ways to do what is necessary to protect the citizens they serve…I tip my hat to the good officers of the Tucson Police Department…and if you need any help making this work, contact Major Jim Russell at the FSU Police Department in Tallahassee, Florida.
Good luck,
Joe Mizereck
Founder, The “3 Feet Please” Campaign
August 13th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Is there a contact at TPD that we ordinary cyclists can email and give our kudos? Some encouragement and positive feedback from the cycling community might go a long way.
August 13th, 2010 at 10:41 am
[...] in his campaign for a car-free Lincoln Park. Tucson police finally begin enforcing Arizona’s three-foot passing law; the cartoon at the beginning alone is worth the click. A Kentucky man buys a bike custom made for [...]
August 13th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
I’m supposed to applaud this meek admission that 28-735 has heretofore gone unenforced? Three-foot violations happen to me on almost a daily basis. If a dozen citations aren’t written in the first month of this program, well, it’s just talk.
August 26th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve never seen a car get pulled over for the 3 foot violation even though it happens dozens of times to every bicyclist on even a short ride.