Bike speed and dog poop: Calgary’s pathway safety blitz is on

Calgary bylaw officers will be surveying city pathways over the next month, tracking speeding cyclists and encouraging Calgarians to pick up after their dogs.

It’s part of the city’s Pathways Safety Blitz initiative, as more people are using the pathways during the sunny weather.

“We have our ups and downs, this time of the season, we get a few complaints coming in, so we just want to remind the public that when you’re out there, safety, safety, safety,” Sgt. Fausto Ricioppo said.

Officers will be on laser detection tracking bike speeds, and looking out for aggressive cyclists, as well as dogs off-leash.

Alex Poole is both a cyclist and a dog owner and said while he doesn’t see bike speed as a major issue, it can be bothersome when it does happen.

“Some of them are kind of rude and they just come ripping past you really close and that’s kind of annoying, especially in these types of situations,” he said.

For him, the bigger issue is dog owners not doing their part.

“The most annoying thing is when people put it in a bag and then leave it on the ground,” he said. “If you put the effort of putting it in the bag and then you’re just leaving it on the ground, that’s brutal, that makes me mad.”

As part of the blitz, bylaw officers will be handing out dog bags, as well as bike reflectors and bells.

They’ll also be giving bags to those boating on the river, to hold their valuables.

Bylaw officers will be in uniform both on foot and on bikes.

“We’ll do later detection, we’ll pull over a speeding cyclist over 20 km/hr if you’re in a 10 zone, they’ll pull you over if you’re doing probably 20, 25, 30 in a 10 zone,” he said. “It could be a verbal warning, it can go to a written warning or it can go to a summons.”

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