Yes, this is another entry about cycling. I know, I know give us some other news, you say.
But when I discover Spencer Chandra Herbert, the NDP MLA for Vancouver-West End, decides to take on Police Chief Jim Chu over policing priorities, its worth a few sentences, dont you think?
I think so. So here we go
On my desk is a letter from Herbert addressed to Chu. Heres the first paragraph:
Last year, I wrote to you urging increased enforcement of the law prohibiting cyclists using sidewalks as a way to increase safety for pedestrians in the West End. Vancouver Police Department statistics from 2012 show 12 citations for this offence in District One. Those same stats show 1,452 similar offences in District Two. Can you explain the huge discrepancy?
Wow, that is a huge discrepancy.
But when I spoke to the VPD, they couldnt explain the huge discrepancy.
Thats because there isnt one.
My reading of the stats posted on the VPDs website titled bike ticketing stats for 2012 show there were 23 tickets issued in District One (the West End) to cyclists for riding on the sidewalk. Another 76 were issued in District Two (the Downtown Eastside) not 1,452, as Herbert suggested in his letter to the chief.
So to understand where that 1,452 number came from, I called Herbert on Friday but he was in an NDP caucus meeting. His assistant told me hed get a question to him.
You should know Herbert contacted me via email earlier in the week about the stories I wrote about tickets issued to cyclists for failing to wear a helmet.
He was interested in stats for riding on a sidewalk. I told Herbert stats related to bike infractions were posted on the VPDs website and I sent him the link.
Monday morning came and still no response from Herbert. So I called up his assistant again, who acknowledged they made a mistake and were correcting the letter.
Turns out the 1,452 number came from a set of traffic and street bylaw stats posted on the VPDs website, which cover all types of infractions, including fighting in public.
Herbert and his office corrected the mistake and planned Monday to send another version of the letter to Chu. Heres the sentence in question, as it now reads:
Vancouver Police Department statistics for bikes on sidewalks from 2012 indicate one third the citations in District One as compared to District Two. Can you explain this discrepancy?
This time, the VPD can offer some explanation. Sgt. Randy Fincham, a VPD media relations officer, said there are more police working in District Two, fewer designated bike paths and public disorder is greater along the Hastings corridor than in the West End.
So with more police down there, they will see more infractions and they will issue more bylaw tickets at the end of the day, Fincham said.
Police also see more tourists in the West End and have talked with them and bike rental companies to ensure customers know the rules of the road.
So, he said, its up to the officer witnessing someone riding on a sidewalk whether a ticket is warranted or whether educating the cyclist about the rules is a more useful approach.
Not all encounters between a person who is riding a bicycle on a sidewalk or not wearing a helmet or doing another bike-related infraction ends up in a ticket, he said. More often than not, it would be a warning and educating them about not riding on a sidewalk.
As for Herberts initial misinterpretation of the stats, well we all know what happened May 14 when the NDP got the numbers wrong.
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