Tucson Velo

I am fairly confident my bike was going to be stolen last night if I hadn’t moved it. I was heading to the University of Arizona to take a final exam in my MBA program. I was a few minutes early and decided to park my bike on the south side of  McClelland Hall next [...]

Just over two years ago a Tucson Police Officer presented a completed version of a voluntary bicycle registration database to the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee. At the time they were just waiting the city’s IT approval. Two years later the completed site is still not live and has been put on the “back burner” [...]

It turns out the stolen bike that turned up on the City of Tucson public auction site last week never went through the Tucson Police Department. Lugh Schoonover’s Accent mountain bike was left on a bike rack on a Sun Tran bus after being stolen in June. Schoonover wrote an email to me detailing what happened: [...]

Rachel Alter’s red Gilmour was stolen last month, which we posted on the Stolen Bikes thread. But she wasn’t content to just file a police report. Alter went out and got the security footage of the theft. Particularly frustrating is seeing a police officer roll by at the two-minute mark while the thieves are stealing [...]

Two Tohono O’Odham police officers parked along the shootout route on Saturday to ensure cyclists were following the rules of the road. The officers said they weren’t allowed to speak to the media, but confirmed that no citations were issued and that the groups were smaller and better behaved than last week. Ralph Phillips, owner [...]

Cyclists riding the shootout Saturday morning may finish their ride with traffic citations in their jersey pockets. Tohono O’Odham police warned riders last week that they would begin citing cyclists who were riding more than two abreast this weekend. The Tohono O’Odham public information officer said he could not speak to the media, but referred [...]

The Tucson Police Department wrapped up their month-long bicycle and pedestrian safety campaign, but additional funds from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will allow them to continue the campaign throughout the year. According to Sergeant Jerry Skeenes, who has been in charge of the campaign, the department will spread the money out over the [...]

Cyclists hoping for a respite from increased enforcement against bicycle violations will have to wait another month to relax. Following in Tucson Police Department’s footsteps, the University of Arizona Police Department will begin its own increased enforcement of cyclists starting Friday and lasting at least until the end of October. UAPD spokesperson Sergeant Juan Alvarez [...]

Editor’s note: I’ve had a few little updates that weren’t worthy of their own post and I’ve collected them in this notebook. The University of Arizona’s bike valet is scheduled to open on Tuesday and will be free for students and faculty to use until Sept. 24. According to an email from Charles Franz, the [...]

The Tucson Police Department addressed cyclists before the Tuesday Night Bike Ride last night. Check out the video to see what the officers had to say and watch scenes from the ride. Most of the cyclists on the ride waited for lights to change and generally followed the laws. The biggest complaint from many of [...]

In an effort to avoid targeted enforcement of the Tuesday Night Bike Ride, Tucson Police Department officials met with members of Pima County’s bike ambassador program on Monday night. The meeting was organized by TPD officer Jerry Skeenes, who is in charge of the grant focusing on bicycle and pedestrian safety; and Matt Zoll, Pima [...]

Update: TPD will also be using plain-clothes officers and unmarked cars to find motorists who are violating the “three-foot law.” Read a little more about it here. Starting today, Tucson Police Department officers will begin increased enforcement of bicycling and pedestrian violations. According to a press release, TPD received a $44,000 grant from the Governors [...]