It never ends.... This in the Daily Camera today

"Recent comments from the sheriff in Larimer County, and subsequent news articles and public comments have resulted in a slew of e-mails, letters and phone calls to my office concerning the enforcement of traffic laws related to bicycles. Some of those messages, particularly the e-mails, have been demanding and almost menacing in tone. I would like to let Boulder County residents know what they can expect, and not expect, from their sheriff's office.

Boulder County Sheriff's Deputies are encouraged to enforce traffic laws and write tickets when they witness hazardous violations. It doesn't matter to us whether it is a motorist or a cyclist, and we are not going to single any group out or be selective in enforcement. This is done by district officers in the normal course of their patrols and duties. There are no resources for increased patrols.

Boulder County Deputies are discouraged from writing petty traffic tickets for issues that do not impact public safety. That includes cyclists and motorists. We have no quota system and we do not evaluate our officers based on the number of tickets they do or do not write, nor do we intend to start doing so.

The best thing that Boulder County has done to relieve this conflict is to build wider shoulders on many county roads to accommodate cyclists. Bike lanes do wonders to alleviate the conflicts and are a great investment in the public transportation system. With rising fuel costs and environmental issues, there is no doubt bicycling will only increase and is here to stay. Cyclists do us all a favor when they utilize these lanes and stay off the travel portion of the road when these lanes are provided.

After all the hub-bub, hate mail and articles, it was interesting to read this morning that Larimer hasn't actually issued any tickets as a result of their "crackdown." Hopefully the debate has heightened public awareness and thus safety, but the demands for my office to "take a stand" on this issue as Sheriff Alderden has done probably need to be tempered a bit with a dose of reality.

SHERIFF JOE PELLE

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