|
Home Search |
Published on Friday, February 28, 2003
in the Florida Times Union
Extra patrols planned as week gets rolling
With hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts passing through and visiting Northeast Florida on the way to Daytona Beach's Bike Week, law enforcement agencies are increasing patrols and taking other measures to deal with the influx, authorities said.
Interstate construction, an upswing in accidents in the past several years and the popularity of destinations such as St. Augustine will add to the mix, they said.
One statewide program, Safe Break, begins tomorrow and extends through mid-April to deal with a range of traffic issues, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper said.
Although the program is aimed primarily at spring break travel, the regional Patrol troop will use tactics including motorcycle patrols, unmarked cars and a focus on semi-trucks, Leeper said.
"Since the motorcycle races fall in that time, it would encompass that," Leeper said. The agency has allocated $183,000 for overtime pay statewide, Leeper said. That will mean about $9,000 and a 10 percent increase in patrols locally.
Leeper said the state has seen an increase in motorcycle accidents in recent years, at a time when the number of bikes on the road is also increasing. Nearly 5,000 accidents in 2001 was an increase of almost 1,400 from 1999, he said records show.
Apart from traffic passing through, the Jacksonville area does not see a dramatic impact from Bike Week.
"We are close enough for a day run down there," said Jacksonville police Sgt. Chester Potter, but he added there is no significant change in traffic patterns during the period.
In St. Augustine and St. Johns County, authorities said the popularity of the area as a day trip from Daytona and for lodging has Harley-Davidson motorcycles on the highways and enthusiasts roaming the old city's St. George Street.
St. Augustine Police spokesman Joe Bowen said officers from the department have attended seminars by Daytona Beach police that cover issues from recognizing gang symbols to traffic control.
Bowen said St. Augustine welcomes the visitors, who tend more to be on the genteel side.
There's a generational shift happening at Bike Week. Twenty-something non-Harley riders are loud and proud, too.
"They love the Alligator Farm and they love the old fort," Bowen said. "We've had a few problems with traffic crashes."
He said police designate parking areas downtown for motorcycles to better utilize the city's already cramped parking.
Sgt. Randy Capo of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said harsh winter weather in the north may translate into additional visitors this year. He estimates between 125,000 and 175,000 Bike Week visitors spend time in the county each Bike Week, but thinks that could increase by as many as 50,000 this year.
In addition to an increase in the use of the agency's motorcycle unit during the next 10 days, Capo said peak hours between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. will see additional road patrols.
He said the units will concentrate on popular routes like A1A along the ocean and U.S.1 that run north and south from Daytona Beach. Deputies will be watchful for aggressive drivers, he said.
"Those are the ones that create the biggest problem," he said.