For all of you that weren’t up at 6:00AM for Sunday morning’s national TV coverage, here’s a quick recap (I had my neighbor tape it for me):
- They incorrectly mentioned that cyclists get $94 tickets (see this post for more on the confusion).
- They interviewed traffic division commander Bill Sinnott and said the program was his “bright idea”.
- They rode around with Officer Hoesly (a really nice guy) and installed 6 sets of lights.
- They stopped cyclists and one of them said, “this is the first time I’ve actually seen the police ‘serve,'” to which everyone had a good laugh (including the cop).
- They called the program a “win-win for taxpayers” and said the “PR value is immeasurable”.
All in all, I think it was a great (even if they didn’t use any of my interview). While cops and bikes continue to clash in other parts of the country, here in Portland, we’re moving forward and working together to solve problems. PR value aside, that’s just cool.