Marin County Rangers To Police Mountain Biker Speed On Trails

MARIN COUNTY (CBS SF) -- An ongoing battle between hikers and mountain bikers in Marin County will have a new participant as rangers and deputies are outfitted with lidar guns to clock the speed of cyclists on popular trails.

Hikers who use the Marin County Open Space District have long complained about bicyclists who travel the trails at dangerous speeds.

Now those cyclists could face a fine if they get caught.

Bikers and hikers haven't been able to get on the same page when it comes to using the same trails. So the county hopes these lidar guns purchased for rangers and deputies will be a peace maker.

After years of complaints from hikers about speeding bikers, the Open Space District recently invested in the laser speed guns and launched a trial phase.

During a recent session, out of the 66 bikers clocked, 11 were speeding.

"Four were above the 15 mile-per-hour limit, and seven were above 5 miles an hour when passing," explained Ari Golan with the Marin County Open Space District.

Violators didn't get tickets this time, but going forward they will. The first offense carries a $50 fine and $155 court cost penalty.

There is a crew of four rangers and two deputies tasked with policing the Open Space District and ticketing bicyclists who are caught speeding.