Oro Valley Police Department’s new bicycle patrol officers dedicated the town’s $2.5 million, 2.7-mile paved, multi-use trail along the Cañada del Oro Wash with a ceremonial walk and bike ride last week.
The 10-officer patrol led residents, council members and other town officials along the trail.
The town’s police bicycles, loaded with lights and equipment, run about $1,200 each. The department paid an estimated $25,000 for them with money that was seized from drug arrests and confiscations. Money for the park came from $2 million in county bond funds and town impact fees and an additional $500,000 in federal aid.
The bicycle patrol will operate out of a new substation at the Oro Valley Marketplace. The officers will patrol the shopping centers, parking lots, apartment complexes, surrounding neighborhoods and the town’s new linear park.
The town’s portion of the Cañada del Oro Linear Park stretches from North First Avenue, just west of Oracle Road, west along the wash to La Cañada Drive.
