Walking or rolling, safety rules

After receiving a warning, 22-year-old Ryan Devereaux acknowledged to an onlooker that he “blew the red light.’’

A two-wheeled commuter between his Brighton home and school, Devereaux considers himself a conscientious rider. But he said his maneuver at Beacon and Harvard streets was typical of urban cyclists, who tend to judge the safety of an intersection separately each time they approach it.

That’s exactly why Officer Kevin Sullivan and five of his colleagues were stationed there on the afternoon of Sept. 30 - to stop cars, bikes, even pedestrians, who ignore traffic laws.

“Honestly, people are oblivious . . . their habits are so ingrained,’’ said Captain Michael Gropman, who oversaw the enforcement effort, made possible by a $7,500 grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Nearly $100,000 has been awarded to police departments throughout the state to provide overtime funds so they can address pedestrian and bicycle safety through enforcement and education.

With the money, police departments in Brookline, Concord, Franklin, and Hopkinton are putting more officers at busy intersections, issuing more citations, handing out bicycle helmets for young riders, and hosting public events to reinforce their message.

The issue came to the forefront in Brookline last month when a 22-year-old woman died from head injuries she suffered in a fall from her bicycle on Longwood Avenue. But Gropman said he has grown increasingly concerned over the past year and half, as bicycle use has risen and pedestrian is sues become more acute.

“Pedestrians are at fault as often, even more so, than motorists,’’ Gropman said of the situation in Brookline. The fine for a pedestrian crosswalk violation is $1, an amount Gropman would like to see increased.

Since Brookline received its grant, the department issued more than 125 automobile citations and at least six bike warnings in the area of Beacon Street and Coolidge Corner. Sullivan said most pedestrians receive only a verbal warning.

The Franklin Police Department is targeting pedestrian-safety issues as well, using its $7,490 grant to police crosswalks in the downtown business district, where pedestrians frequent the MBTA commuter rail station, Dean College, shops, restaurants and offices.

Unlike Brookline’s uniformed deterrence, however, Franklin’s officers will be in plain clothes. Drivers failing to yield at a crosswalk face penalties ranging from a written warning to a $200 fine. Sergeant Chris Spillane, of the department’s safety division, said the grant money is being used proactively.

“We haven’t had any serious pedestrian accidents in the area,’’ Spillane said. “It’s more preventative.’’

Spillane said the department issued approximately 84 citations in the first three weeks of last month.

Downtown is also the focus for Hopkinton, where both uniformed patrols and plainclothes “crosswalk decoys’’ will monitor crosswalks.

Lieutenant Richard Flannery, who applied for and manages the $4,986 grant, said recent efforts by the town to promote its downtown business district have put the spotlight on pedestrian-car interaction.

“It’s an ongoing issue brought to our attention and to the Board of Selectmen’s attention’’ along routes 135 and 85, Flannery said.

“We were getting a lot of complaints about crosswalk violations in town, in that people were not yielding for pedestrians,’’ he said.

Hopkinton’s police officers issued approximately 80 citations last month. A separate state grant for 75 bicycle helmets will supply the department with an inventory to give out to young riders.

In Concord, the $3,824 public-safety grant will fund new signs for crosswalks and regarding bike safety. The Police Department is using some of the money to create its own inventory of bike helmets, and to fund a bike rodeo this month - not only to give out the helmets to children, but to educate all town bicyclists on road safety.

Police Chief Leonard Wetherbee said Concord has always had a high number of cyclists. It is a dynamic amplified over approximately the past year, he thinks, by renewed interest in green transportation.

Terrel Harris, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said a pair of circumstances prompted the grants.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identified pedestrians and bicyclists as special road users in need of safety consideration, he said. And Massachusetts has seen an upward trend over the past several years in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities: 85 last year, 81 in 2005.

The issue is felt acutely even in towns not working with the new state funds, such as Natick.

Cory Lovett, building maintenance supervisor for the town, stepped into a downtown crosswalk on Aug. 26 and found himself in the hospital with a broken leg. A driver had struck Lovett after failing to yield to him in the crosswalk.

Since then, said Lieutenant Brian Grassey, executive officer of the Natick police force, the department has been working with the town’s Safety Committee to add high-visibility paint to downtown crosswalk markings and assess signs.

Grassey said extra police patrols have also been assigned around crosswalks during the day. “Even before Mr. Lovett was hit,’’ Grassey said, the department had been focusing on pedestrian safety issues. “Although more pointedly so, since.’’

Newton residents are also working on road safety issues concerning bicycles. A bike-advocacy group listened last month to a proposal presented by a group of students as part of a research project to convert the Commonwealth Avenue carriage lane into a pedestrian and bike path.

Lois Levin, president of Bike Newton, said her group has yet to present its plan formally to city officials. The group is applying for recognition by the League of American Bicyclists and holding a membership drive to add leverage to its request.

Brookline, meanwhile, is considering multiple changes for local bicyclists.

Last month, the town’s Transportation Board approved a network of bicycle lanes and facilities that are designed to help bicyclists maneuver between Longwood Avenue and the Boston University Bridge.

Town Meeting will also be considering an article next month that would require all bicycles to be registered with the town. Transportation Administrator Todd Kirrane said similar proposals have been presented to Town Meeting before, in an effort help recover stolen bicycles and to hold bicyclists more accountable on the roads.

Kirrane said the idea has been referred to the town’s Transportation Board before, and it was determined that the program would be too costly.

David Watson, executive director of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, said his organization is opposed to rules requiring bicycle registration.

“We see it as an obstacle to get more people to ride bikes,’’ Watson said.

Back at Coolidge Corner, Devereaux said more could be done to make sure bicycles, pedestrians, and cars share the roads safely. He leans, however, toward better infrastructure for bike commuters.

“They’re addressing issues,’’ said Devereaux of the police enforcement. “They’re not my issues, though. My issue would be the lack of bike lanes.’’

Globe correspondent Brock Parker contributed to this story.