Paul Bass Photo
Officer Robert Williams and Sgt. Mark O’Neill revved their engines and drove off with a newly doubled motorcycle team looking for speeding or cellphone-chatting drivers.
The traffic cops drove off from City Hall Wednesday morning, where officials announced an expanded effort to keep streets safe for travel to coincide with the true beginning of spring.
The police have purchased new motorcycles and doubled from six to 12 the number of cops assigned to the traffic enforcement division. The department will now be able to mount simultaneous traffic-monitoring operations both during day shifts and at night.
“We must do all we can to separate cars and trucks from ‘vulnerable users’” — i.e. pedestrians and cyclists—declared Mayor Toni Harp. If those users come into contact with moving vehicles, “the vulnerable user will lose.”
“As we all know,” said City transit chief Doug Hausladen, “April is Distracted Driving Month.” He said the stepped-up police patrols coincide with city government efforts to “push out our “Safe Streets message” and to create new separated bike lanes (aka cycle tracks).