City and Lehigh University officials announced recently they had worked out another in a string of cooperative arrangements in May to put officers back on regular neighborhood bicycle patrols.

Mayor Bob Donchez and Police Chief Mark DiLuzio said the partnered patrols are a marked and visible return to the community policing style DiLuzio advocated when he was first installed a year and a half ago.

All participating officers will be certified and they will be drawn from Patrol Division, Street Crime unit and School Resource Officers (during summer months). They will cover the central downtown Southside area, from ArtsQuest and the casino to the Greenway and SkatePark to Lehigh University.

Southside Ambasadors and Sands Casino security will also join in during Summer evenings, assisting local merchants and citizens and alerting police to safety issues.

The resurging program uses existing resources and is not exceeding normal operational costs, DiLuzio said.