OTTAWA — Ottawa Police Chief Dennis Butler kicked a new four-week Safe Streets program that started this morning downtown. Volunteers and police officers will hand out orange flyers explaining the program and offering safety tips to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians for this and next week, Butler said. Then beginning Oct. 19, for two weeks, officers will hand out something else. Officers will still have the discretion to issue warnings but they’ll be in enforcement and ticketing mode, he said. Butler said he hopes the campaign will draw enough attention to encourage better behavior among motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians beyond the downtown area, he said. The program, based in part on a Safe Streets program used successfully by Washington, D.C., police, was inspired by recent traffic accidents involving vehicles and bicyclists and citzen complaints.
Monday, Oct. 8, 4 p.m.