All things cycling-related in the Boise, Idaho area.
Idahobikeracing Digest, Vol 12, Issue 6
Today's Topics:
1. Chief Masterson Responds (Michael R. Mercy)
2. FW: Bike Ride Fundraiser (Jeff Gasser)
3. FW: XC12K Reminder (Jeff Gasser)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:46:14 -0600
From: "Michael R. Mercy"
Subject: [Idahobikeracing] Chief Masterson Responds
To:
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hello Everyone-
Attached below is a note from Chief Masterson of BPD who took the time to phone me yesterday and answer my questions regarding his interview and the accompanying BPD press release from approximately 2 weeks ago. He expressed regret in the timing of the event and unintended message that may have been sent to the community regarding cycling and cyclists in Boise. The conversation was pleasant and productive and I took the opportunity to discuss the frustration (or at least my perception of the frustration) of cyclists that we are somehow to blame for the recent tragedies and that there seems to be an unreasonableness in motorists regarding cyclists and having to share the road and my hope that there be more responsible advocacy (in whatever form) for cyclists from law enforcement.
The Chief is clearly trying to address our concerns regarding safe roads and is full support of the attached bike safety charter many of you have already seen. I have to say I am impressed with the response of city officials to my phone calls. I received personal calls from the chief and the prosecutor responsible for any charges that result from Kevin?s death.
I think that all of our efforts are producing results and hopefully raising the awareness of city officials to a large and no longer silent majority regarding cycling safety on our roads. While it may not be everything we desire, it no longer feels like we are suffering up a long, uphill grind with a broken derailleur and no water.
Mike
--
Michael R. Mercy MD, FACEP
208-724-2906 (cell)
208-361-0064 (fax)
mrmercy@earthlink.net
------ Forwarded Message
From: Michael Masterson
Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:48:57 -0600
To:
Cc: Michael Zuzel , Pete Ritter
Subject: Re: our phone conservation this morning
thanks mike for your input this morning and thank you for your continuing advocacy for bike safety in Boise.
I realize some in the community attribute motive to my actions (blame the
cyclist) which comes at the unfortunate time in which we have had three cyclists killed but I was aware of that possibility and consciously chose to make public BPD's actions believing that openness and transparency were more important that the possibility of offending some citizens. I believe the publicity has created an additional awareness for bike safety in our community and has generated other actions and further discussions which provides momentum for change. I had anticipated both the reactions and actions and am pleased with the responses to date.
Below is the personal letter I've been sending to everyone who calls or writes to me. feel free to pass it along to others. One comment you made today intrigued me. You mentioned you've been a life long community resident and were taught in early childhood it was acceptable to ride against traffic. Coincidentally our data reflects the 25-45 age group as having a higher likelihood of being involved in bike car collisions. I've passed that info along to our bike safety group asking them to evaluate our educational outreach over the past thirty years to see if we have changed our instructional points in this area.
I've also attached the bike safety charter for your review. Thanks again for the call and conversation. Please feel free to call or email me on any issues or suggestions you have to improve traffic safety of all. I've given your contact information to the bike safety committee with the hopes that as they complete their work they will involve citizens like you in reviewing their recommendations to insure we are taking the right steps to promote safety. thanks again, mike masterson.
Thank you for sharing your views on the recent publicity on the three fatalities involving cyclists in our community and the need for greater roadway safety. I appreciate hearing both positive and constructive feedback on the department's operating and enforcement procedures.
Officers have just one motive in mind when enforcing bike, traffic, or any law, and that motive is public safety.
Personally, I have been a bicycle "enthusiast" for the last forty years, thirty of which was policing the City of Madison, Wisconsin, where bikes outnumber registered cars on the roadways. ( I have two Treks, and a Klein) For the past five years, I've enjoyed riding Idaho's recreational mountain trails, but try to reserve most of my riding these days for Boise's greenbelt. And I still manage once or twice a year to put on my bike uniform and accompany my bike officers on patrol. Most recently, it was Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st. Riding with Officer Tom Shuler, I put about 50 miles on patrol, from checking out Quinn's pond for juvenile behavior complaints, to riding east of the city to see the bike path under Bown's Crossing bridge. In between, I spent a lot of time riding streets downtown. I got to see first hand some of the issues impacting cyclists, pedestrians and motorists, and hear from my bike officers which steps we as a police department could take to gain greater compliance with laws.
In part, because of the recent tragedies, and partly because so many Idahoans are choosing to use bicycles to save on gas or help the environment, we at the Boise Police Department have undertaken an educational initiative to not only educate bicyclists who we see violating common laws that jeopardize their safety, but to raise our own awareness of the types of behaviors both motorists and cyclists engage in that endanger
lives. Some readers have interpreted increasing cyclist education as
blaming cyclists. Truthfully, when it comes to the cause of collisions, our officers have observed there's blame enough to go around. Instead of blaming some, we're choosing to educate all in hopes of preventing injuries to any.
Our approach on this and many safety issues is to "educate first; regulate when necessary".
The first two nights of the bicycle safety initiative, Boise Police officers warned over 60 cyclists after they observed those cyclists riding in a potentially dangerous and illegal manner. Only a handful of cyclists whose behavior was most egregious, were cited. At the same time, Boise officers just completed a campaign cracking down on aggressive driving. More than 800 citations were written by officers for speeding in a short, two-week period.
Dozens more citations were written for other aggressive driving behaviors.
When using Boise roadways in a potentially dangerous manner, anyone, a motorist, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian risks a ticket if that behavior is witnessed by an officer. It's always up to the individual officer, but sometimes, issuing a ticket is the best tool we have to try and get a citizen to recognize and change their unsafe behavior.
Although we take our enforcement role seriously, you've heard it said, a police officer can't be everywhere every time. Individually, our enforcement role is limited by the number of officers taxpayers can afford to have on the streets, and what those officers can personally observe. Beyond that, we try to reach larger numbers of citizens with education. Alerting the public, often through media, that officers are watching for certain behaviors can influence citizens to be more mindful of traffic laws. We hope those educational messages spread among families, clubs, schools, anywhere people gather, to influence even more of us to pay attention to our own safety and the safety of others. It is naive to think we, as Boise's police department have the sole responsibility for ensuring safety, or that we have all of the answers to safety issues. Although our community expects us to provide leadership on these issues, we are only one part of the overall strategy for community safety.
My hope is that you, as a citizen, regardless of whether you choose to support police efforts, do choose to learn and follow traffic laws, encourage others to do the same and continue to speak out, question why , and advocate for bicycle safety. Boise has been recognized by many outside authorities as a beautiful, active outdoor community, but it's up to those of us who live here to keep safety as the foundation that this community is allowed to grow by. Only a community considered safe by it's citizens can flourish. We at the Boise Police Department take our responsibility to provide that safety seriously, but recognize our safety is up to all of us.
I've attached the Bike Safety Charter which Mayor Bieter has asked city leaders, including myself, to develop to look at the issue of bicycle safety in Boise. That effort is just beginning in earnest. Public in put will be an important component.
Again, thank you for taking the time to communicate your thoughts. I appreciate hearing from you.
Sincerely,... Chief Mike Masterson
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:11:19 -0600
From: "Jeff Gasser"
Subject: [Idahobikeracing] FW: Bike Ride Fundraiser
To: "Cycling List"
Message-ID:
<7EAE56507F84E246B3FDEA5E1F3856E80229C7FB@ace11.acecosemicon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Please note the attached Flyer.
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:10:23 -0600
From: "Jeff Gasser"
Subject: [Idahobikeracing] FW: XC12K Reminder
To: "Cycling List"
Message-ID:
<7EAE56507F84E246B3FDEA5E1F3856E80229C7B2@ace11.acecosemicon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hey there.
Just a friendly reminder that the XC12K trail running race is quickly approaching (August 1st).
We still have spots left, but better hurry as they are starting to go quick.
Early registration is only $25 until July 24th, after which it is $45.
$50 cash to top male/female plus $25 preem to fastest male/female at top of Trail of Tears.
Registration is online only at: http://www.xc12k.com
=0&d=014FD3E4-364E-4DAE-B6D3-C31686F03273&e=jgasser@acecosemicon.com>
Hope to see you at the race and happy running!
Idaho Nordic
86F03273&e=jgasser@acecosemicon.com>
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_______________________________________________
Idahobikeracing mailing list
Idahobikeracing@lists.cyclingutah.com
http://lists.cyclingutah.com/listinfo.cgi/idahobikeracing-cyclingut...
http://idahobikeracing.org
http://www.cyclingutah.com
End of Idahobikeracing Digest, Vol 12, Issue 6
1. Chief Masterson Responds (Michael R. Mercy)
2. FW: Bike Ride Fundraiser (Jeff Gasser)
3. FW: XC12K Reminder (Jeff Gasser)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:46:14 -0600
From: "Michael R. Mercy"
Subject: [Idahobikeracing] Chief Masterson Responds
To:
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hello Everyone-
Attached below is a note from Chief Masterson of BPD who took the time to phone me yesterday and answer my questions regarding his interview and the accompanying BPD press release from approximately 2 weeks ago. He expressed regret in the timing of the event and unintended message that may have been sent to the community regarding cycling and cyclists in Boise. The conversation was pleasant and productive and I took the opportunity to discuss the frustration (or at least my perception of the frustration) of cyclists that we are somehow to blame for the recent tragedies and that there seems to be an unreasonableness in motorists regarding cyclists and having to share the road and my hope that there be more responsible advocacy (in whatever form) for cyclists from law enforcement.
The Chief is clearly trying to address our concerns regarding safe roads and is full support of the attached bike safety charter many of you have already seen. I have to say I am impressed with the response of city officials to my phone calls. I received personal calls from the chief and the prosecutor responsible for any charges that result from Kevin?s death.
I think that all of our efforts are producing results and hopefully raising the awareness of city officials to a large and no longer silent majority regarding cycling safety on our roads. While it may not be everything we desire, it no longer feels like we are suffering up a long, uphill grind with a broken derailleur and no water.
Mike
--
Michael R. Mercy MD, FACEP
208-724-2906 (cell)
208-361-0064 (fax)
mrmercy@earthlink.net
------ Forwarded Message
From: Michael Masterson
Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:48:57 -0600
To:
Cc: Michael Zuzel , Pete Ritter
Subject: Re: our phone conservation this morning
thanks mike for your input this morning and thank you for your continuing advocacy for bike safety in Boise.
I realize some in the community attribute motive to my actions (blame the
cyclist) which comes at the unfortunate time in which we have had three cyclists killed but I was aware of that possibility and consciously chose to make public BPD's actions believing that openness and transparency were more important that the possibility of offending some citizens. I believe the publicity has created an additional awareness for bike safety in our community and has generated other actions and further discussions which provides momentum for change. I had anticipated both the reactions and actions and am pleased with the responses to date.
Below is the personal letter I've been sending to everyone who calls or writes to me. feel free to pass it along to others. One comment you made today intrigued me. You mentioned you've been a life long community resident and were taught in early childhood it was acceptable to ride against traffic. Coincidentally our data reflects the 25-45 age group as having a higher likelihood of being involved in bike car collisions. I've passed that info along to our bike safety group asking them to evaluate our educational outreach over the past thirty years to see if we have changed our instructional points in this area.
I've also attached the bike safety charter for your review. Thanks again for the call and conversation. Please feel free to call or email me on any issues or suggestions you have to improve traffic safety of all. I've given your contact information to the bike safety committee with the hopes that as they complete their work they will involve citizens like you in reviewing their recommendations to insure we are taking the right steps to promote safety. thanks again, mike masterson.
Thank you for sharing your views on the recent publicity on the three fatalities involving cyclists in our community and the need for greater roadway safety. I appreciate hearing both positive and constructive feedback on the department's operating and enforcement procedures.
Officers have just one motive in mind when enforcing bike, traffic, or any law, and that motive is public safety.
Personally, I have been a bicycle "enthusiast" for the last forty years, thirty of which was policing the City of Madison, Wisconsin, where bikes outnumber registered cars on the roadways. ( I have two Treks, and a Klein) For the past five years, I've enjoyed riding Idaho's recreational mountain trails, but try to reserve most of my riding these days for Boise's greenbelt. And I still manage once or twice a year to put on my bike uniform and accompany my bike officers on patrol. Most recently, it was Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st. Riding with Officer Tom Shuler, I put about 50 miles on patrol, from checking out Quinn's pond for juvenile behavior complaints, to riding east of the city to see the bike path under Bown's Crossing bridge. In between, I spent a lot of time riding streets downtown. I got to see first hand some of the issues impacting cyclists, pedestrians and motorists, and hear from my bike officers which steps we as a police department could take to gain greater compliance with laws.
In part, because of the recent tragedies, and partly because so many Idahoans are choosing to use bicycles to save on gas or help the environment, we at the Boise Police Department have undertaken an educational initiative to not only educate bicyclists who we see violating common laws that jeopardize their safety, but to raise our own awareness of the types of behaviors both motorists and cyclists engage in that endanger
lives. Some readers have interpreted increasing cyclist education as
blaming cyclists. Truthfully, when it comes to the cause of collisions, our officers have observed there's blame enough to go around. Instead of blaming some, we're choosing to educate all in hopes of preventing injuries to any.
Our approach on this and many safety issues is to "educate first; regulate when necessary".
The first two nights of the bicycle safety initiative, Boise Police officers warned over 60 cyclists after they observed those cyclists riding in a potentially dangerous and illegal manner. Only a handful of cyclists whose behavior was most egregious, were cited. At the same time, Boise officers just completed a campaign cracking down on aggressive driving. More than 800 citations were written by officers for speeding in a short, two-week period.
Dozens more citations were written for other aggressive driving behaviors.
When using Boise roadways in a potentially dangerous manner, anyone, a motorist, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian risks a ticket if that behavior is witnessed by an officer. It's always up to the individual officer, but sometimes, issuing a ticket is the best tool we have to try and get a citizen to recognize and change their unsafe behavior.
Although we take our enforcement role seriously, you've heard it said, a police officer can't be everywhere every time. Individually, our enforcement role is limited by the number of officers taxpayers can afford to have on the streets, and what those officers can personally observe. Beyond that, we try to reach larger numbers of citizens with education. Alerting the public, often through media, that officers are watching for certain behaviors can influence citizens to be more mindful of traffic laws. We hope those educational messages spread among families, clubs, schools, anywhere people gather, to influence even more of us to pay attention to our own safety and the safety of others. It is naive to think we, as Boise's police department have the sole responsibility for ensuring safety, or that we have all of the answers to safety issues. Although our community expects us to provide leadership on these issues, we are only one part of the overall strategy for community safety.
My hope is that you, as a citizen, regardless of whether you choose to support police efforts, do choose to learn and follow traffic laws, encourage others to do the same and continue to speak out, question why , and advocate for bicycle safety. Boise has been recognized by many outside authorities as a beautiful, active outdoor community, but it's up to those of us who live here to keep safety as the foundation that this community is allowed to grow by. Only a community considered safe by it's citizens can flourish. We at the Boise Police Department take our responsibility to provide that safety seriously, but recognize our safety is up to all of us.
I've attached the Bike Safety Charter which Mayor Bieter has asked city leaders, including myself, to develop to look at the issue of bicycle safety in Boise. That effort is just beginning in earnest. Public in put will be an important component.
Again, thank you for taking the time to communicate your thoughts. I appreciate hearing from you.
Sincerely,... Chief Mike Masterson
------ End of Forwarded Message
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:11:19 -0600
From: "Jeff Gasser"
Subject: [Idahobikeracing] FW: Bike Ride Fundraiser
To: "Cycling List"
Message-ID:
<7EAE56507F84E246B3FDEA5E1F3856E80229C7FB@ace11.acecosemicon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Please note the attached Flyer.
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Name: Team Type I Bike Ride Invite1.pdf
Type: application/octet-stream
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URL:
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:10:23 -0600
From: "Jeff Gasser"
Subject: [Idahobikeracing] FW: XC12K Reminder
To: "Cycling List"
Message-ID:
<7EAE56507F84E246B3FDEA5E1F3856E80229C7B2@ace11.acecosemicon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hey there.
Just a friendly reminder that the XC12K trail running race is quickly approaching (August 1st).
We still have spots left, but better hurry as they are starting to go quick.
Early registration is only $25 until July 24th, after which it is $45.
$50 cash to top male/female plus $25 preem to fastest male/female at top of Trail of Tears.
Registration is online only at: http://www.xc12k.com
=0&d=014FD3E4-364E-4DAE-B6D3-C31686F03273&e=jgasser@acecosemicon.com>
Hope to see you at the race and happy running!
Idaho Nordic
86F03273&e=jgasser@acecosemicon.com>
-------------- next part --------------
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_______________________________________________
Idahobikeracing mailing list
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http://lists.cyclingutah.com/listinfo.cgi/idahobikeracing-cyclingut...
http://idahobikeracing.org
http://www.cyclingutah.com
End of Idahobikeracing Digest, Vol 12, Issue 6
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