Enforcement Practices
Posted by: ScottNov 07 2007, 3:10 pm
The community is rightly distressed and beside itself about the recent bicycle fatalities and injuries in Portland and elsewhere. There is clear concern about the enforcement practices regarding cyclists, about citations at crash scenes, and about enforcement actions on low-traffic streets while there are deadly crashes happening at documented hazardous intersections.
This issue is complex and I want to ensure you that the BTA is working with elected officials, community leaders, and police on solving these problems.
Last week, prior to the most recent crash, I met personally with Mayor Tom Potter and we held a preliminary discussion about enforcement practices. Today I met with staff at Commissioner Adams' office to talk about funding a variety of bicycle safety projects including 114 miles of new bicycle boulevards, 14 new bike boxes, and increased safety education. We are scheduled to meet with the Commissioner later this week to drill deeper into the enforcement issues and I am discussing these ongoing issues with the Mayor’s staff.
The BTA is working to develop a constructive approach to fair enforcement and citation practices in Portland and statewide. We are also again reviewing the laws to improve them at the Legislature.
Please continue to support these changes with your personal action. Action is what is needed!
I understand the need to address this issue in a constructive manner with local officials.
Nonetheless, I'm disappointed with this statement!
I would expect that the BTA would feel both secure enough in its position and responsive enough to its membership to strongly and clearly state that the current enforcement practices are unacceptable, give lie to Portland's oft-touted position as the country's best cycling city, and inherently undervalue the lives and rights of cyclists.
Todd Waddell
Well Todd, you've also got to look at things from the perspective of the BTA here: their approach to dealing with this stuff is largely diplomatic in nature. If the PPB is so out of whack as for these enforcement issues to exist in the first place, and the Mayor's office doesn't consider it enough of an issue to sort it out, there's a fairly strong chance that saying "the actions of the PPB are unacceptable and the Mayor isn't holding them accountable" is going to be taken as "nogoodrassafrackinjerkfacedidjuts". At that point, good luck getting those whom you hold no official power over accountable for much of anything.
But yeah, I do get it, and I'd be happier with a stronger statement too. I'm sure we'll get one AFTER Scott & Co. have actually talked to the relevant parties and have determined whether this is going to be a cooperative effort or a nasty knock-down nail-marks-in-the-mat dragged-out struggle.
Given the public statements of the rogue in charge of the traffic division, that struggle is going to have to happen, Nick, and the BTA should be organizing it. Who better?
Thanks BTA! I sent my renewal in this morning.
(And I pledge to keep up the fight on my end as well.)
Scott,
In correspondence with Jeremy Van Keuren of Mayor Potter's office he asserted that police don't have the funding to investigate and subsequently issue citations in cases like the Siobhan Doyle collision. I suggested that any incident which resulted in a person being removed from the scene in an ambulance merited an investigation. He replied that would cost more than voters are willing to pay.
Did you get that sense when you met with Mayor Potter? If so, I would suggest that funding investigation of collisions take precedence over bike boxes and boulevards.
Consequences for killers and maimers!