At 35 mph, a male bicyclist was speeding down the hill, resulting in a citation from University Police for violating the posted 15 mph speed limit.

Several days later, the cyclist sped down the hill once again, but this time he hit a university van at the bottom of the hill and required hospitalization.

This is one example of activity the University Police monitor in accordance with the 2002 Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant.

The Wisconsin Bureau of Transportation Safety awarded $6,000 to UW-Eau Claire for officer overtime used to watch the hill and intersections that often result in violations.

“For a limited amount of money, we did some really good work,” said Doug Hubbard, police officer and grant coordinator.

The limited amount of staff the police receive for their budget isn’t able to give specific attention to pedestrian and bicycle safety, Hubbard said. The grant allows extra resources so police can monitor the problem spots on campus.

The grant report stated that the police officers concentrated their enforcement on two areas of the campus – the university hill, 10 Garfield Ave., and the intersection of Park and Garfield.

Enforcement also requires officers on foot, on bicycles and in squad cars.

Sophomore Randall Combs walks down the hill to get to class and said that motorists aren’t as big a concern as speeding bicyclists.

Freshman Sarah Denis also said that bikers are a danger and if they cause an accident, it is their fault.

Aside from monitoring bicycle traffic, the other component of the grant is used to monitor pedestrian safety.

“We wanted to focus on intoxicated pedestrians and how they endangered themselves coming back from house parties,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard completed the final report on the grant’s utilization Oct. 15, after the allocated grant funds were exhausted.

The grant acts like a reimbursement, he said. The work they reported in the spring 2002 semester was repaid in July and the work for this fall semester is yet to be reimbursed.

“We used every penny of the grant money,” Hubbard said.

The campus police received a grant last year in the amount of $1,000. Hubbard said if the police get a grant next year, it will be the third year in a row.