Durango resident Anne Carine pedaled her bike through a red light this spring at College Drive and Main Avenue.
"I thought I was going to get a warning," she said. "The price of the ticket was a little outrageous."
Police said bicyclists have to follow the same rules as motorists. If officers see an infraction, they'll stop the cyclist and decide whether to write a ticket or issue a warning – the same as with motorists, said Lt. Ray Shupe, with the Durango Police Department.
"(A bicyclist's) duty is the same as a driver," Shupe said. "So if they're coming up on a red light, they need to stop for it. The same with a stop sign."
The police department was unable to provide numbers of citations issued to cyclists, saying its records system does not separate bicyclists from motorists.
Durango Municipal Judge David Turner estimates he oversees six or seven traffic violations per month involving bicyclists. That number stays fairly steady throughout the year, he said.
"It's generally stop-light violations," Turner said. "It's generally downtown at night."
The Herald spent one hour Tuesday at Ninth Street and Main Avenue. Fifty-eight bicyclists passed through the intersection from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Of those, 15 stopped for red lights and three pedaled through Led light. Two turned right on red lights without coming to a complete stop. The others either hit green lights or walked their bikes across the intersection at the appropriate time.
Bicycle advocates agree cyclists should follow the rules of the road in every instance – no excuses. But some admit the rules are often broken, and some even admit to being the scofflaws.
Diane Shaline, who works at Mountain Bike Specialists on Main Avenue, said she always stops for red lights and typically slows down for stop signs.
Shaline said she has ridden with some people who brazenly violate stop signs and red lights.
"It's amazing how many people – they don't even think twice about it," she said. "But if they were in a car, they would stop."
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