UW and Madison police released an evaluation Friday of their recent crackdown on bicycle safety, concluding that the program would benefit from an extension.
According to a joint statement from the two departments, officers cited 131 cyclists and handed out a total of 40 verbal warnings and pamphlets as part of their public relations campaign to promote bicycle safety. Police on bicycles scouted the downtown and campus area, pulling over violators on busy streets and intersections.
Sometimes the officers issued tickets, and other times they gave warnings.
\Participating officers from both agencies agreed that most contacts were positive and that the program should continue,"" the statement read.
However, the program received mixed reviews from bicyclists. UW-Madison junior Mike Grade said an officer on a bike pulled him over at the corner of Park and Langdon Streets after he drove through a stop sign without stopping.
""I didn't even know that you couldn't go through a stop sign,"" Grade said.
The officer gave him bike safety tips and then let him off with a warning, but he did not really gain from the experience, Grade said.
""I guess I'm like a little bit more conscious when I'm at that one stop sign,"" he said, but added he would continue not to follow bicycle laws when he deems them unnecessary.
Robbie Webber, program manager for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and district 5 alderman, said the police program helped increase awareness of bicycle laws.
""A bike is a great way to get around downtown Madison ... but most people have never been taught how to ride a bike in the city,"" Webber said.
The best way to ride a bike in the downtown area is to treat the bike as a car or any other motor vehicle, she added. For example, cyclists should get right out into the road instead of hugging the side. By staying visible, cyclists keep their actions more predictable to motorists and stay safer, Webber said.
She added that sometimes accidents result from pure chance, such as when a cyclist slid on gravel at a construction site on the corner of Charter and W. Johnson streets and slipped under a bus Sept. 11. But most often, Webber said, collisions result from careless riders on bicycles and motor vehicles.
""People don't know how to ride a bike as a vehicle and that's why they need to learn,"" she said.
