You are going to see much more of this because at the last NPA meeting the chief of police was called out about the lack of enforcement to bikers and his response was, he will not ask his officers to ticket bikers and pedestrians

Not exactly, he said he won't waist his resources ticketing and enforcing 24/7 due to much more important matters facing the city. They'll certainly call out infractions when they see them (not following rode rules, no lights at night, etc) but will use their best judgement on enforcement.

I would think the influx of wrong way cyclists is due to the Bike Path detour. Many using this recreation path are not accustomed to riding in real traffic and are prob just trying to get back on the path. I'm not saying it's right, just what I suspect.

I've been seeing a lot of recreational users from the bike path that have been diverted onto North Ave who have no clue how to properly ride with traffic. As of yesterday it looks like additional signage was added to the detour that tells people to ride with traffic. I definitely saw a lot of this last fall too when the section of the bike path between Depot & Institute was closed. Tourists on rental bikes aren't always the best at following the rules of the road.

This was 2 days ago around 6:00 p.m. The rider was a mid-20s female riding against the flow of traffic, one hand on the handlebars, one hand holding an energy drink, wearing PJ pants. Sorry guys, she didnt appear to be a tourist, just your average citizen.

Everyone that is seeing this kind of riding from these bicyclist needs to post on the wcax face book site so kore people see it then maybe we can get the police to do something about this problem

I personally think this is more of an education issue than an enforcement one. Police have more important things to focus on than people on bikes riding on the wrong side of the road.

At about 7 [m Tuesday saw bike being operated on the beltline nearing North Ave., Honked car horn and got the finger !!!

That Guy,
So who will educate them? Has Local Motion stepped forward to address this issue? Their last PR campaign was to inform drivers that cyclists are real people.

@FIXBTV, yes I think Local Motion has actually placed additional signage along the detour route as of yesterday, to add to the detour signage that the Parks Department had put up. They also created an updated map with more info than Parks provided, that gives directions for how to ride the detour properly.

Saw this on their Instagram feed yesterday.

@gil, were you on the beltline proper, or the connection between North Ave and Ethan Allen Homestead? Bike are definitely NOT supposed to be on the beltline itself, but the access to/from North Ave to Ethan Allen Homestead is perfectly legal for bikes. I've noticed a lot more bike traffic on that route this summer too, since I think they're running summer camps out there. It definitely isn't a very safe route, but it is legal.

oops, sorry for double posting that image.

This is a problem and nobody will do anything until someone is killed, prevention is the best method

Youve missed the point completely. Informing Cyclist of a detour is not educating them of the rules of the road. HAS LOCAL MOTION EVER ATTEMPTED TO PLACE SIGNS EDUCATING CYCLISTS OF THE RULES OF THE ROAD.

And yes cyclists are occassionally on route 127.

Certainly seems like the largest pro cycling lobbying group in Burlington should take efforts to educate cyclists of the rules of the road if they are going to advocate for more cyclists on City roads.

FixBTV; Local Motion has indeed placed tearaway flyers on bike racks throughout the city, explaining what the laws for people riding bikes.

I also agree that some "ride with traffic" signs would be helpful.

Are these people that stupid, I can remember being tought that from my parents almost 60 years ago. I believe it's because they think they can do what ever they want because the police will do nothing

Wayne, some are ignorant to the rules, some were never taught by their parents, some don't care.

Maybe Local Motion would care to make a presence on the Avenue with signs telling cyclists to travel with traffic.

Issue acknowledged.

We have notified the police about the issue of wrong way bicyclists.

The best answer to -"can anything be done?" is - Yes. The consequences can be immediate if the police are notified of a specific person violation the law. If a motorist ran a red light and nearly caused an accident, most people would call the police and give a description to the dispatcher and explain that there is a hazardous motorist. That does not seem to be happening when there are bikes doing the same thing. People should get a description of the person creating the hazard and call the police at the time of the incident. Giving a direction of travel is important. Reporting it later in the day, the next day or days later is not going to change that cyclist's behavior.

If residents want directed action on patrolling for bicycle violators, they should contact the officer in charge at the police department. There is a supervisor on duty 24 hours a day. That person is the officer in charge. Explain what you specifically want and they can direct the request based on the geographic location.

Comments like - "it's bad all over the city" are not as helpful as "North Winooski at North Street between 3 and 4 p.m. are particularly bad for bicyclist violations". The later is descriptive enough to help get enforcement at the problem spot at a time when they are likely to find the problem you are trying to solve.

I hope this helps.

FYI, I reached out to the folks at Local Motion after seeing the additional detour signage they had already placed to supplement what Parks & Rec had up for bike path detour signage. LM is now making another batch of "detour safety tip" signs that include:
"stop for stop signs & red lights"
"ride to the right in single file"
"look behind you and signal your turns"
and "if riding on the sidewalk, go slow and yield"

Hopefully these help with all the recreational riders that are being diverted into traffic on North Ave.

I also suggested they distribute material about the detour and how to properly ride it through their trailside rental center, and through the other bike shops in town that rent bikes.

I called out the chief of police on this at the last NPA meeting, he won't do anything about these violators. I also offered to show him dash cam videos of the officers going by these violators and not stopping

Thank you, That Guy!

Thank you Wayne.

Closed