For YourCity Kirsten Ellen-Fleming
For Metro Calgary Neil Mackinnon

A month long education campaign by city bylaw officers which dished out more than 400 warning slips and 500 free handlebar bells drew to a close Thursday.

Now, $50 fines for pedaling over the 20-kilometre and hour limit posted on most city pathways and failing to announce your presence to pedestrians will become the norm.

"It's just another day for us, but this time the ticket books are out, this is the real stuff," said Bylaw boss Bill Bruce. "We've given out thousands of bells on the pathway system in the past, we've given away hundreds of helmets to kids and now it's time to step it up and put in some consequences."

Many joggers caustically quipped about their own paces under the scrutiny of a radar gun meant to haul aside fast-moving bikes and James Frail, who was clocked 8-km/hr over the limit and was one of two cyclists to be written up on the south Bow River pathway, said he'd take to the road more often if their were proper laneways.

"I go the speed I feel is safe and comfortable for traffic and it's unfortunate that we have to resort to using a shared path," said Frail, who commutes to work by bike everyday and had a speedometer on his old bike, which was recently stolen. "I'll try and watch it but I'll probably take to the road more just because it's such a low speed limit, it's very difficult to ride that speed, I could probably run that fast."