Originally Posted by
Tundra_Man
The last few weeks I've noticed a much higher police presence on the MUP. Almost every ride to/from work I'll see at least one cop patrolling. Usually they're on motorcycles, but today there were two of them riding quads. A woman was assaulted on the MUP in early May. She wasn't injured, but some guy came up and grabbed her then ran off when she resisted. I'm wondering if that's what prompted the police to keep a closer eye on the trail? Not sure. On my way home last night I saw one of the cops talking to a kid who he caught throwing rocks at birds.
Also, I'm seeing a non-officer "safety patrol" guy out riding on a bicycle quite a bit. He's not in uniform, but is wearing a fluorescent safety vest and carries a walkie-talkie. I'm speculating that maybe he's a city employee of some sort just giving some added surveillance to the MUP? Or perhaps doing some community service time? He doesn't look like a seasoned rider. I generally see him on the southwest side of town. Today when I saw him I was really tempted to catch up with him and offer to adjust his bike seat to make his ride more comfortable. The seat is slammed all the way down on his mountain bike and it's obvious the fit is way off. He rides about 8 mph and keeps the bike in a high gear so his legs are barely spinning. If he's riding around all day like that his knees have to be screaming. Had he been heading the same direction as I was I would have pulled up next to him and attempted to offer some assistance to help him enjoy his riding a bit more.
I've not seen a policeman on the MUP in the last year since I started riding again. We do have a safety patrol, but they're volunteers. I believe they take a short orientation class, sign some waivers, and are issued a vest and walkie-talkie. I've heard secondhand that the orientation is basically, "You're there to observe. Don't do anything, report anything". For liability reasons, they're not supposed to render first aid, and any bike repair they offer is at their (not the city's) risk. Still, it's nice to see them.