[*BCM*] Longfellow / Cambridge Bike Police

[Charvak Karpe]

Yes, I've been stopped by the Cambridge bike cops for running the 77
Mass Ave light.  They only gave me a warning and told me that they'll
be around town and I should stop the next time I see them so they
don't write me a ticket.  It's one more thing to be alert for,
distracting me from dodging cars.  I was polite, but I did ask why
they don't do something more useful like ticket people for not using
turn signals.  They claimed that they write tickets for that too and
enforce all laws.  They thanked me for being green and "helping mother
earth".  I thanked them for the warning.

If I had time, I'd demand statistics of how many tickets the City of
Cambridge has issued for failure to use turn signals and carry that
with me for the next time I see them.  Has anyone heard of someone
getting a ticket for turning without signalling?

It's not their fault that they've been assigned the bicycle
enforcement shift, so the best they can do is hand out a bunch of
warnings.  We should be nice to those guys.  One might expect the
police to do useful things like track down stolen property or stop and
ask questions when they see a bike lock being cut instead of writing
bike tickets, but at least they're not pushing us off the bikes.
Sarcasm aside, police presence does help keep drivers tamer than they
would be otherwise.  And although they vary as much as any group of
people, most of them are pretty nice if you're nice to them and
respectful of their authority.

------------------------------------------


Agreed about the hypocrisy of these bicycle traps.  Just this morning, at
that very location, I was right behind a rider who was fined for running
the light ahead of me.  With the reputation that Boston motorists have, I
can't help but feel they have much bigger fish to fry.

However, I have to say that last Friday (in the afternoon, following the
police-supported Bike Friday event that I attended) I was told by a cop to
go if I saw a chance through the busy intersection.  It was "the least
they could do" because I was "sparing us all the gas."  He was a really
nice guy, and if I'd had the time, I'd have grabbed his badge number and
commended him (leaving out the law breaking part of course) to his
department.
--
James David Morgan
Co-Founder and Designer
The Groundswell Collective
http://www.groundswellcollective.com/
http://blog.groundswellcollective.com/

Jon Ramos wrote:
Speaking of the area near the Longfellow Bridge....
There have been an increasing number of bike police traps in
Cambridgelately.? I have noticed that they are spread out along my route
at different locations, but they seem to always be at least one cop the
intersection of Broadway & Main Street in Cambridge (just before the
Longfellow).? I have watched other cyclist get stopped and ticketed a few
times, usually when crossing with the pedestrian walk signal when all
lights are red.
?
Here is a map of the spot:?
(http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Broadway+%4042.362770,+-71.084582&daddr=42.361977,-71.082423&hl=en&geocode=12899578198328372370,42.362770,-71.084582%3B6747366231024457007,42.362270,-71.083680&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=17&sll=42.362008,-71.082627&sspn=0.003623,0.006748&ie=UTF8&ll=42.363047,-71.08283&spn=0.014491,0.043302&z=15)
(In my opinion) I think it is good for the police to stop cyclists for
blasting through a red light, but I personally think it is safer to cross
that particular intersection with the pedestrian signal vs. waiting for
the green and battling for a safe spot with the cars.
?
I also think it is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS that the bike police at that
intersection do NOTHING about all of the shuttles, taxis, large trucks,
and cars that are parked in the bike lane less than 50 yards east from
where the cops are handing out tickets to cyclists.