Police to Monitor Montrose Ride
By Chris Ziegler

7/13/11 - In response to public complaints, Monrovia Police will be conducting a traffic sting operation during the morning hours on Saturday July, 16th, in the vicinity of Mountain Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.  Complete stops at stop signs will be a key focus of the enforcement effort. This event will be a concern for both Montrose Long and Short groups.

This attention is in response to the actions of a few riders of the Montrose Long group at Foothill Boulevard and Second Avenue this past weekend – the location where the group turns right off of Foothill and heads north into the residential neighborhood of Arcadia. A few folks pulled a boneheaded maneuver by squeezing by stopped motor vehicle traffic, passing on the left of the cars and then turning right across their path and we all get the credit. In fact, the police lieutenant that talked to me used the term “Thugs” to describe our group and that the police we're accused of neglecting their duty by ignoring our existence.
 
The lead riders should have stopped the group behind the motor vehicle traffic and blocked the squeeze by routes to prevent the uninformed/undisciplined riders from squeezing by the cars for the less than 5 seconds we would have had to wait for a green light - very few people appreciate getting unexpectedly swarmed by a group of cyclists. I think we can all agree that this type of riding is not in our long-term best interests, please consider using peer pressure to help enforce good behavior on the rides. Thanks!