Citizen survey revives downtown Yakima bike patrols
The Yakima Police Department (YPD) will launch a pilot bike patrol program during tomorrow night’s First Friday event.
The move comes after residents responded in the 2012 Yakima Citizen Survey that they didn't feel safe as they would like to in the downtown area.
The during a Yakima City Council in late August, council members expressed concern that the negative perception that some people have of downtown Yakima may be hurting business development as well as attendance at nighttime special events in the commercial core of the city.
Tomorrow night's bike patrol will include two YPD officers. City Manager Tony O'Rourke also plans to tag along with the bike patrol officers for part of the evening.
The renewed pilot program for the bike patrol will include the September 7th First Friday event and likely another First Friday event later this fall. If the pilot program proves successful, it may return as a regular service provided by the YPD in the spring of 2013.