City Bicycle Ordinances Will Be Enforced

The Cambridge Police Department's recent crackdown on violators of Massachusetts and Cambridge bicycle laws resulted in 182 citations being issued this summer, according to information obtained from Sergeant Paul Sugrue.

Four people who refused to reveal their names and addresses when stopped by Cambridge Police Department (CPD) officers were handcuffed and placed under arrest, Sugrue said.

"We're working to try and make things safer...not to punish cyclists," Sugrue said, citing a fatal August 5 accident involving a bicyclist and a motor vehicle near Porter Square.

The CPD bicycle law crackdown began in March. The law, which has been in effect for some time, stipulates that all bicyclists must follow the same traffic laws as cars. They must stay to the right of the road; they are strictly prohibited from riding on the sidewalk in Harvard and Central Square; and they must always yield to pedestrians.

As part of the crackdown, CPD has attempted to educate bicyclists by distributing brochures throughout public schools, the police station, bicycle stores and Cambridge's City Hall.

Riding on the sidewalk and failing to obey red lights and one way signs were the most common violations for which bicyclists received citations, Sugrue said.

All citations on bicycle law violations carry with them a $20 fine, and people arrested for such infractions have to pay an additional $50 and other fines assessed by a judge.

Many of the citations were issued during periods of "selective enforcement" whereby "we pick a spot that is a problem area and sit there for a certain length of time," Sugrue said.

Harvard Square's kiosk area has been a past site of selective enforcement, Sugrue said.

The majority of citations have been issued by officers patrolling on bicycles, he said.

All of the money collected from fines will be used to fund bicycle safety classes, Sugrue said.

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) officers cannot enforce these laws because HUPD officers do not have jurisdiction over moving violations, said Peggy McNamara, HUPD spokesperson.