Bike Patrols riding the River District this holiday season

Bike Patrol Officers Kevin Morrissey, left, and Don Weathers mingle with residents at a recent downtown event. Six bike officers will be patrolling the River District this holiday season. COURTESY PHOTO As visitors saunter through the downtown Fort Myers River District during the Holiday Stroll series of festive events in December, they will notice yellow-shirted men on bicycles riding through the crowds — a special unit of the Fort Myers Police Department known as the Bike Patrol.

Geared for the unique needs of the River District, such as cycling through crowds during special events or accessing areas typically limited to pedestrians such as the Patio de Leon, the six officers who make up the Bike Patrol are as much ambassadors to the public as they are there to ensure public safety. Bikes remove the barrier of a car, allowing people on the street to stop and talk to the police officers more easily.

"I am a people person," said Bike Officer Kevin Morrissey. "People come up and talk to me, and they are glad to see me."

Recent examples of the Bike Patrol intermingling with the public have been at Spooktacular and Art Walk. Whether asking parents and children about their trick-or-treating experiences with local merchants or assisting art patrons with directions, the officers are ready to help at any time.

The officers, Don Weathers, Chuck Newel, Keith Kerr, Scott Newbury, Brian O'Reily and Kevin Morrissey, work patrol cycles around five designated regions throughout Fort Myers, but concentrate on the River District. Two officers work during the day while four patrol at night.

The distance they ride in a day varies, but ranges from 10 miles to 28 or more.

The River District is the historic commercial district and emerging residential community along the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers. Its geographic boundaries are East First Street (at Seaboard Avenue), the Caloosahatchee River, the Edison Ford Winter Estates and the McGregor Boulevard/ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard corridor (ending at Evans Avenue).