Honouring Toronto's first bike patrol, after 27 years

In the 1980s, it was rare to see a police officer patrollingwithout a squad car.

But those four wheels and metal frame could be a barrier to engaging with the people law enforcementserved. So in 1989, the Toronto Police Service introducedits first-everBike Patrol Unit.

Const. Hugh Smith was one of the original members of that unit. He'sbeing honoured at the Toronto Bike Awards on Wednesday night for his service on the force anda lifetime of achievementin "changing the conversation" about cycling in this city.

"It's very humbling,"Smith told CBC host Matt Galloway on Metro Morning.

Metro Morning6:38Cycling Award

For more than two decades, he's been talking bike safety from a cop's point of view. Tonight, Constable Hugh Smith will be honoured for a lifetime of achievement at the Toronto Bike Awards. Matt Galloway spoke with him this morning.

"As a police officer to have that platform ... to make positive changes and look where we are today: it's not the cars (versus) bikes, it's how can we move together instead of 'we don't want you on the road'."

When Smith was assigned to the bike unit,it had 12 members plus a sergeant.

The bicycle patrol represented a force that wanted to get back to community policing after the infamous bathhouse raidson Church Street.

'Squish you off to the curb'

Bicycles allowed officers to cover more ground than on foot, and could travel where patrol cars could not.

But officers were reluctant to get on the cycles at first.

"At first everybody thought it was penalty box, your punishment. But the officers didn't want to come [back from their shifts], they were coming in later on in the shift because theyweregetting involved in the community, riding through, talking," said Smith. "Fortunately they were enjoying their work."

Acceptance was slower on the street, too. Initially people mistook the bike patrol for couriers.

Having two wheels on the ground in the late 1980sallowedofficers like Smithto experience firsthandthe challenges of cycling in the city.

"We were starting this when there were no bike lanes;there was nothing ...The old rule 'squish you off to the curb',and nobody identified us as police officers. We didn`t have those bright yellow jackets until three years later."

By 1994, officers were being trained specifically for bike patrol. Todaythere are more than 650 bike cops in Toronto.

Smithbecame an advocate for cycling safety. He saysbiking in the city is nowvery safe,and drivers have learned to give cyclists more space.

But with an average of three bike fatalities a year in Toronto, Smith, who's retiring this year,admits there are still problems.

"Coming out to make a right turn, if the cyclist is on your right for predominantly 90 per cent of that street, and you want to go up and make a right turn, there's no real communicationsometimes," he said. "That's where we get these conflicts."