The city’s bylaw department plans to continue downtown patrols and educating cyclists to keep city roads and sidewalks safe.

No changes, however, are being pondered in light of an incident last Sunday.

Carol Boschman, 70, was assaulted after she told a cyclist who “flew past” her on a Lewes Boulevard sidewalk that he’s required to cycle in the bike lane on the road rather than the sidewalk.

While RCMP continue to investigate the assault, Boschman told reporters Tuesday this wasn’t the first time a cyclist has startled her, whizzing past her on the sidewalk where she’s walking.

Despite a bylaw stating cyclists over the age of 12 are to be on the road, she’s noticed a large increase of both cyclists and skateboarders using the sidewalks. It’s a situation, she argued, that puts pedestrians like herself at risk.

Bylaw manager Dave Pruden acknowledged the department has received calls about cyclists on the sidewalks.

Officers are doing their best, he said, with two officers to spend half their time patrolling the downtown core.

That’s where there are the most conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians. Constables are also busy on the Millennium Trail patrolling for animal control and other bylaw offences.

“We do get complaints,” he told the Star.

Statistics provided by the bylaw department show so far this year there have been 50 warnings issued to cyclists and one to skateboarders. Those figures compare to 38 warnings for cyclists and four for skateboarders last year.

In 2012, there were 14 warnings issued to cyclists and none to skateboarders.

There have been no tickets issued to skateboarders over the last three years or cyclists this year.

Cyclists did get ticketed in 2012 and 2013, however, with 33 tickets issued in 2012 and nine in 2013.

Only six bicycles have been seized in the last three years – five in 2012 and one this year.

Meanwhile, the number of complaints has climbed by a few each year, with 20 coming in this year, 14 in 2013 and 11 in 2012.

While cyclists over the age of 12 must stay off all sidewalks in the city and wear helmets, there are no such regulations around skateboarding.

The only regulation for skateboarders is that they cannot be skateboarding in the city’s central business district, defined as Wood Street to Elliott Street and from Front Street to Sixth Avenue.

Elsewhere, Pruden said, they can “skateboard away.”

While the bylaw department doesn’t typically make regular patrols in the city’s more residential neighbourhoods such as Riverdale, he noted if it becomes clear there’s a recurring problem at a particular time of day, officers will attend.

They will first attempt to educate, then move to stronger enforcement measures if need be.

The city also provides pamphlets and online information, and has an officer visit city schools in May and June to remind students of the rules of the road when they are cycling.

“We try to do education first,” he said.

He also pointed out that in addition to patrolling for cyclists and skateboarders on sidewalks in the downtown core, the officers working on patrols are also tasked with a number of other duties such as patrolling trails by ATV.

“We do the best we can,” he said.

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