Denver police are cracking down on two-wheeled scofflaws in response to a rising number of complaints from motorists and pedestrians.

Last month, police began a monthly “focused enforcement” day, where four officers on bikes, and a supervisor, hit the streets to cite cyclists for breaking laws. More than 40 bicyclists have received $60 tickets for such offenses as riding on the sidewalk.

“Some people are very understanding, and some are very upset,” said Sgt. Grady Carter of the Denver Police Department, who is in charge of the urban bike patrol.

Scott Rogalski, a Capitol Hill resident who frequently rides his bike on urban jaunts, has received two warnings about riding on the sidewalk, which is against the law in Denver.

“Once I was crossing Lincoln riding up Colfax and saw a car run a red light,” he said.

When a police car took off, he assumed it was chasing the driver. But he soon realized that he was being pulled over.

“I was a little upset,” he said.

For the record, it’s OK to ride your bike on a sidewalk in Denver if you are within a block of parking your bike and are traveling 6 mph or less. It’s also OK if you are on a street that is part of a designated bike route, such as 20th Street between Coors Field and the Lower Highland neighborhood, said Denver Public Works department spokeswoman Ann Williams.

But cyclists argue there are not enough bike lanes and sharrows — the bike-shaped icons painted on the road to remind drivers to share it — in congested downtown streets.

They also say they feel safer riding on sidewalks.

On East 14th Avenue between Broadway and Lincoln Street on Monday, where a police officer was ticketing cyclists for riding on the sidewalk, there is no bike lane on the busy, one-way street.

Williams said cyclists would fare better if they first consult the free Denver bike map and then plan a route avoiding streets with no bike paths or sharrows.

“There is a recommended route two blocks over from 14th Avenue, on 16th Avenue,” she said. “We don’t have resources to put (a bike lane) on every street.”

Over the past two years, the city has almost doubled the number of its bike lanes, up to 38 miles in 2009 from 20 miles.

During that same period, sharrow lanes increased to 21 miles from 12.

Still, many cyclists complain that motorists don’t always follow the law that says they must give cyclists 3 feet of safe passing distance, so they’d rather risk a ticket riding on the sidewalk.

Although Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado, said the group encourages all cyclists to abide by rules of the road, he also acknowledged that they sometimes “feel between a rock and a hard place. They’re scared.”

Pedestrians on crowded streets, however, often complain about cyclists on sidewalks.

“We do see some cyclists riding on sidewalks at very high rates of speed, and that’s what we are targeting,” Carter said. “We know sometimes sidewalks are the safest place to be, but it is illegal, and we do enforce the law.”

Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com

Plan your path

Pick up a free Denver bike map — while supplies last — today at the city’s Bike to Work Day breakfast station at Civic Center, 6:30 to 9 a.m.

The maps are always available at city recreation centers.