Campus police officers stood by two miniature stop signs set up outside the Sid Smith building, stopping cyclists as they passed southbound on St. George yesterday afternoon.
But though they were pulled over by the cops, no one was getting in trouble.
“We’re doing an educational bike spot check,” says Veronica Amodeo, bike coordinator for the U of T police. “It’s not enforcement related…we’re not giving out tickets or fines.” Instead, they are telling cyclists about potential tickets they could be getting, as part of Safety Week, run by campus police.
“We’re seeing a lot of no helmets,” says Amodeo, “and that’s important.” Though helmets are not legally required for adults, she points out, everyone should be wearing them. Cyclists have also shown up with no horn (normally a $90 fine) or lights.
While they were stopped, people were reminded to obey traffic lights and stop signs and to know their signals. Though cyclists were not legally required to stop when they were waved over by Amodeo, all seemed to do so, likely because you can’t tell if the reason a cop is waving to you is merely educational.
Behind Amodeo, a ring of tables offered information on campus police, community safety, the new Bike Chain student repair shop running out of OISE’s underground parking lot (see our coverage in the Sept. 22 issue of The Varsity) and BikeShare. Off to the side, Special Constable Kim Senior is doing free tune-ups.
“I’m working on the rear derailleur,” she said, wielding a screwdriver. “It’s not lined up properly.” Senior used to work in a bike shop, and now that she’s a cop, she still uses her repair skills.
“We have a fleet of nine bikes, and I do all the in-house maintenance,” she said. That way, small mechanical problems get fixed before they turn into major breakdowns.
Tony Goncalves, another officer, is chatting with students by a large display on the campus police.
“I’m getting questions on how to register a bike, what kind of lock should I get,” he says. Registration makes it easier to get your bike back if it is ever stolen.
Safety week continues until Friday.
“On Friday, our last day, we’re having a barbeque at main campus by the Medical Sciences building,” says Goncalves. “That’s free food.” The barbeque will run from 11:30 a.m. until the free food runs out.
