Fairfax Police: Cyclists Need to Obey Stop Signs

Cyclists, you’ve been warned.

Fairfax police are cracking down on stop sign runners the rest of this summer.

“While we are a bike-friendly town, we can not allow cyclists to continue to have the blatant disregard for the rules of the road,” said Fairfax Police Chief Christopher Morin.

Bicycles ignoring stop signs is a yearlong problem in town that worsens this time of the year as more cyclists hit the streets, Morin said.

The police officers’ goal isn’t to just simply write more tickets to curb the illegal behavior, Morin said. The police are also working with the Marin County Bicycle Coalition to educate cyclists.

Morin said that while “most cyclists tend to ignore stop signs,” the “bicycle enthusiasts” who descend on the town in large volumes on the weekends can be especially problematic because they tend to ride faster.

But, Morin said, the police aren’t just going to target the enthusiasts. “It’s everybody.”

Problematic areas include downtown Fairfax, because of the sheer volume of cyclists, Morin said, as well as people running signs on Lansdale.

Citations for running stop signs are around $138, Morin said.

'Occupy the sidewalk'

Fairfax resident Cindy Ross was happy to hear about the Fairfax Police Department’s increased enforcement.

In a recent letter to the Marin Independent Journal, Ross said she is especially concerned about cyclists riding on the sidewalk:

Are there bad or dangerous drivers out there? Of course.

But as a pedestrian in Fairfax, I have had far more scary encounters with rude and nasty cyclists than with drivers (though we need better enforcement of crosswalk laws for both cyclists and motorists).

Am I against cyclists?

Absolutely not!

But for my safety and yours, please remember that cyclists may not ride on the sidewalk, that stop signs do apply to them, that all vehicles, including bikes need to stop at crosswalks, and that the pedestrian always has the right of way.

Ross even recently held a small “Occupy the sidewalk” protest in Fairfax, asking cyclists to stay on the road. 

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