DC Bike cops?

[americancyclo]

For the past few days, I’ve noticed two bicycle cops at the intersection of Penn and 14th. Wondering if it’s an enforcement thing, after WABA took some officers around on a bike ride a few weeks ago. Anyone know of cycling being issued tickets, or motorists being pulled over?

Topic

[RESTONTODC]

I see couple MPD cops on MTB all the time at Verizon Center. Most of the time, they chase the criminals running on foot. Sometimes, they stop the cyclists riding on the sidewalk.

[RESTONTODC]

There are a lot of cops in dc today. It’s an “All Hands on Deck” weekend.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/mayor-gray-will-not-stand-in-way-of-this-weekend%27s-all-hands-on-deck-081111

[OneEighth]

I have also noticed more bicycle police at that intersection but haven’t seen them pulling any cyclists over.

[jrenaut]

I’ve seen those two directing traffic (poorly) a few times. They seem to casually try to maybe sort of prevent easily discouraged drivers from running the light (mostly northbound traffic on 14th).

I’m nearly positive there are 100 places in the city that need them more than that one does, especially since they don’t seem to actually care if you do run the light. Either give tickets, or get out of the way. They also like to casually stroll through the bike lanes when the lanes have the green light, which is especially fun. You’d think a bike cop might actually be paying attention and respect the bike lanes.

[KLizotte]

I saw three bike cops chatting this morning on the MVT; I couldn’t tell if they were DC, AC or NPS from what they were wearing (they were all decked out in fluorescent yellow). It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a police presence on the trail. Then I saw an NPS cop on a bike by the Jefferson Memorial – another first.

[Jsnyd]

They’re probably trying to save money haha.

[baiskeli]

Saw four Capitol Police on bikes this morning on the MT. V. They didn’t seem to know the trail well – they went through the lot at Roosevelt Island and got stuck at the temporary barriers, then they crossed the GW at the dirt trail north of the Mem bridge.

[consularrider]

baiskeli, we must have been on the trail at the same time. They passed me heading south near milepost 17, the lead gave me a hello as he approached.

[Dirt]

There are often bicycle officers near the White House security entrances on 15th&E, 17th@E and along the closed section of Penna Ave in front of the White House. Some are DC Police, some are White House security detail. These guys seem to circulate a block or so out from their core beat on a regular basis. Could be what you were seeing. Might be something more.

[Greenbelt]

Lots of Capitol Police on bikes lately, including up by Union Station. They cruise around on the sidewalks too, which makes me not feel so bad for taking an occasional off-the-road shortcut. I think they’re training — with Congress out of session they’re doing orientations, training etc. Maybe they’re bored and just taking some cool rides!

[jrenaut]

I hate seeing bike cops on the sidewalk. If they don’t feel safe biking on the streets, we either need to train them better, or fix our streets. I know it’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in most of the city, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. They should be able to effectively and safely do their jobs while riding on the street.

[baiskeli]

@consularrider 7687 wrote:

baiskeli, we must have been on the trail at the same time. They passed me heading south near milepost 17, the lead gave me a hello as he approached.

yeah, they were nice guys.

I’ll bet Greenbelt is right – they’re training while Congress is out of session. Nice job to have right about now.

[Author]

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