The tide is being turned on what former Mayor Ben Cantu succinctly once called “the Wild West” mentality on Manteca’s streets.

To be clear, there’s a lot more work to be done.

But what has happened so far has put a dent in wanton behavior on the streets and a sizable dent in the wallets of some of the perpetrators.

For starters, it is amazing what impounding 18 bicycles for 30-days requiring fees to be released and doling out $200 fines can do.

Not since that “saturated” police presence crackdown in April made possible by the council adopting a zero-tolerance ordinance against rogue pack bicycling mentality that had teeth to take a bite out of pocketbooks, has there been a repeat performance.

Such antics — organized on social media and by word of mouth — was all about mayhem and making a mockery of the rules of the road in the name of elevating clicks on social media.

Dozens upon dozens of bicyclists engaged in pack mentality weaving through moving arterial traffic, running red lights en masse and popping wheelies with cars traveling 35 mph at them — was not just kids being kids and letting off steam as some claimed.

One can imagine the amount of steam those same people would have blown off at police and the city for not doing anything if a kid got hit by a car during such antics.

The pinnacle of disconnect was reached when some adults actually argued Manteca officials were making a mountain out of a molehill when they imposed the ordinance in the aftermath of nearly 100 bicyclists taking over the Highway 120 Bypass freeway auxiliary lane between Union Road and Main Street with some even popping wheelies.

Out-of-control bicyclists are only a small part of the Wild West street behavior Cantu condemned.

One of the biggest is speeding through neighborhoods.

For years, such complaints fell on deaf ears of elected officials and were treated as an almost non-existent priority based on the lengthy and Byzantine process staff put residents through to request traffic calming measures. Just ask the long suffering residents of Mission Ridge Drive.

The current council and city leadership changed all that.

Today, the installation of speed lumps is effectively slowing traffic throughout the city.

It also appears, in some cases, to have reduced the number of motorists using feeder streets as a short cut to travel between arterials such as Louise Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.

Assistant City Manager Kevin Jorgensen noted the lumps are popular with residents as there is an extensive list of requested neighborhood streets to have them put in place.

The city is tackling the list as funds become available.

Red light running continues to occur not at epidemic but pandemic levels citywide.

That is reflected in 17,138 citations being issued in the first 486 days of red light technology being installed at just five of nearly 100 controlled intersections in Manteca between the city and Caltrans.

It clearly remains an issue at not just those five intersections but at others throughout Manteca.

There are some — but not a lot — of repeat offenders.

The city is leaning toward dialing down the moving violation from a $490 ticket processes by the courts to a $100 infraction handled by the city.

In doing so, they would be heeding state law put in place by California legislators that allows existing cities with red camera technology to ease its financial impact out of concern such tickets are going disproportionately to lower income drivers.

It might seem as a step short of a get out of jail card by some critics of easing up on the financial consequences of doing the one moving violation that is a major factor in Manteca’s 1,000 plus vehicle crashes.

However, that escalates with each subsequent violation within a set time period.

The bottom line still exists.

Adjust your driving to comply with laws put in place to avoid mayhem, injuries, and deaths on the streets or you are going to keep paying a price for it.

It’s further back in the rear view mirror, but the city turned the tide on illegal semi-truck parking throughout Manteca.

Manteca has successfully reduced vision and safety-related issues tied to illegally making-parked trucks.

It is now a rarity to even see one semi parked along streets such as Moffat Boulevard that once had as many as 50 trucks at one time parked between Austin Road and Manteca High.

Stop signs are not multiple choices.

Posted speed limits aren’t suggestions.

Red lights are the opposite of green lights.

Bicyclists using the street are governed by the same laws as drivers.

Driving calls for one’s undivided attention.

It’s not an opportunity to multi-task.

Behavior on Manteca’s streets is now a little bit less on the wild side.

It’s a good start.