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Home My WebLink About0314.091----------------- • \ r ~ ,~.". ".'c',.' ' BUDGET '11-92 • • . ., -' ,-. June 6, 1991 THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, California Attention: Finance and Public Works committee Bicycle E4ucatiop trap. it'D! Pll, Members of the council: a'POrt ill Brl'f This is an informational report and no Council action is required~ On Hay 28, 1991, the Finance and Public Works committee raised some questions regarding the proposed transfer of the bicycle program currently being conducte~ by a Community Service Officer (eSC) in the Police Department to the Fire Department. This report explains the details of the transition plana JUyenil. O~f'Da.r Iroqraa Currently, juveniles who receive their first bicycle citation for a non-equipment violation are required to attend a one and one-half hour bicycle offender class. Attendance at the class prevents T~e violation from appearing on the juvenile's record, and the County Juvenile Traffic Division is not involved~ Offenders pay a $13 registration fee that covers the cost of the instrUctor's time and any materials. The curriculua includes bicycle laws and safety issues~ Depending upon the number of first time offenders, an average of eight or nine classes are held each year with 15-20 students attending each class. Students who fail to attend the class are referred to the Juvenile Traffic Division of the Superior court for disposition. Fire Department staff will conduct these classes using a team of three to six personnel who will be trained to provide this service. This relatively s.a11 cadre of instructors will ensure consistency in the content of instruction, as well as availability of personnel to meet the service demand. with the exception of a different instructor, there will essentially be no change in the program. CMR: 314:91 -----_n_ .. · ""' .. a .. ' .. ··.,,· ·ill .......... •··· -' -~----- o o PAge 1'wo TwO offender classes are scheduled tor this aonth. Fire Department perBonnel will attend those classes for training purposes. Addi tionally, police personnal will provide Fire personnel with lesson plans, written procedures for the classes, handouts, and films used durinq presentations. The classes viII be videotaped for training re.terenc~. ,.10 Alto B¢hOOl Di.trict Bicycle 14uca,iol Each year .. the Bicycle eso select& two grade levels at each elemen tary school and conducts ..fS-ainute classrOOll presentations on bicycle safety. Scheduling for the presentations is done In conjunction with SChool District staff. The classes have tradi tionally been held durinq the first month of school and at the end of the school year .. in May and June. Fire Department personnel will assume the responsibility tor teaching these classes. They are already skilled at public education presentations; and after a short instruction and transition period I the q-oJality of instruction will continue to meet the high standards that exist in the current proqr.am. The Fire Department is prepared to provide 30 presenta tions, which does not affect existinq ser~ice levels. For the school year beginninq in September 1991, one large bicycle education seminar for each .iddle school is planned on school reg istration day. This seminar will be jOintly conducted by Police and. Fire personnel te ensure ,a smooth transition. Police statf would again train Fire personnel, as well as provide them with the lesson plans, procedures and handouts for classroom presentations. For a number of years, the Police Department has contracted with a .ember of the community to teach one-hour classes tor all seventh graders on effective cyclinq. Funds for this contract have been included in proposed cuts and, if approved by Council, this program woul~ be eli.inated~ Bicycle Relat_' eo.-itt •• a The city/School Traffic Safety Committee, including members of the PTA and School District staff, holds monthly meetings during the school year to discuss bicycle safety issues. A repre.sentative from both police and Fire Departments will attend those meetings. The Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory COlDDittee, consisting of adult bicyclist enthusiasts, also holds monthly ~eetin9s and deals with bike safety/traffic enqineerinq issues. A Folice Department repre sentative will continue to attend those .eetings, and when agenda items reqardinq student bike education issues are to be discussed, a Fire department representative will participate. CMR:314:91 • 1 • Paqe 'l'hree Police and Fire statt will meet with tbeae committees during the next two months to ensure that their concerns are addressed during the trBr.sition period. licyel. Lig'D,iDQ Bicycle licensing currently occurs in one of two ways. Fire fighters issue about 600 licenses a year at tire stations between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. every day~ The Police Department issues abo~t 300 licenses a year at special events such as the Police-Fire Sa~ety show, bicycle auctions and by special request. under the proposed plan, the Fire Department would issue all licenses; entry of the 'license information into the City's computer system would be done by fir~fiqhters at the time the licenses are issued. The police DepartJaent will continue to handle stolen, lost or recoverad bicycles. ltugt.igJlI With the assistance of the City's Purchasing Department" two bicycle. auctions are held each year. The auctions are a labor intensive event. Police, Fire and Purchasinq will be review1nq long-term alternative .ethods" that would allow the disposal of the bicycles accordinq to the MUnicipal Code requlations while reducinq the associated worklo.d~ In the interim, Purchasing will include bicycles in their annual auction in the fall~ Celt Recov.ty ft., staff briefly reviewed the feasibility of increasing related fees in order to assist in the program cost recovery ~ As mentioned previously, tl"~e fee tor the Juvenile Offender ProqraD currently covers the costs of the CSO's time and materials for those classes. Bicycle registration fees are presently '$2. Based upon the average of 900 licenses issued each year, the fee would have to be raised substantially in order to have any impact on the other bicycle pro qrams. Staff believes that any Significant increase would discourage people from licensing their bikes~ Staff did not consider fees for classroom presentations in the schools, because they occur within the school context where fees are not appropriate~ am:J14:91 o o page Four t!9pcluaioD staff believ •• that the rea •• lgnaent of the bicycle education proqraa would r •• ult in little, if any, change in the level or quality of service. With the exception of the Effective CYcling contract, no COlIPOnent. of t.he C\l%Tent progr&ll 'Would be eliminated. staff ~lso believes that transrerrinq the entire bicycle licensing responsibility to th~ Fira Departs9nt can be done with .ini.al or no proqra. disruption. Respectfully submitted, 0!R:3H:91