The Taipei City Government said yesterday that it would install 23 electric monitors at 14 municipal riverside parks by the end of this year to clamp down on cars and scooters that use the bike lanes illegally.
The monitors are to be installed around parking lots for cars and scooters, major sports facilities in the parks and bike lane entrances and exits, the director of Taipei City’s Traffic Police Division, Chen Ming-cheng (陳銘政), said during a municipal meeting yesterday.
Parks with the most violations, such as Dazhi, Guandu, Yanping and Jinfu riverside parks, would have monitors installed every 10km, Chen said.
Statistics from Taipei City’s Police Department showed that the department fined a total of 2,104 drivers between January and July this year for driving on bike lanes in the parks. The number of violations last year was 2,048.
Chen said each monitor would cost about NT$80,000 to NT$100,000 and the city government would appropriate the required budget.
A 60-member squad of bicycle-mounted troopers formed last year by the city government to patrol the city’s 106km of riverside bike lanes will continue in their efforts to clamp down on violators. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the city government would also consider installing similar monitors on major roads as a tool to help police clamp down on traffic violations.
Chen said the department would invite local borough chiefs to inspect the installation sites before starting the work.
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