Month: February 2011

By Bob Mionske, J.D.

A common misconception motorists have is that cyclists are slow. Of course, an automobile can reach higher speeds than a bicycle, but that’s on the increasingly mythical open road. Around town, we regularly demonstrate that cyclists are capable of keeping up with cars and often able to easily pass a congested lane of traffic. But this raises the question: What does the law say on the subject? The rules, as always, differ depending on where you are riding and whom you are passing. But let’s take a look at a few common situations.

Bike Lane
It seems too obvious to state, but a cyclist sprinting past others is dangerous, if not illegal. You should pass other cyclists deliberately and at a safe distance (the closer you are, the slower you should go). If the path is so tight that you can touch the person you’re passing, proceed even more cautiously. Also, the law may require you to audibly warn others before passing; for courtesy, you should do this regardless. Never pass on the right–you may cause a collision. Even though it’s a bike lane, watch for cars: In most states, motorists must merge into the bike lane before turning right. If there is a car in the bike lane, cyclists are legally permitted to pass it by moving left, into the vehicular lane, and carefully merging back in once it’s safe to do so. Of course, pay attention to what traffic is doing regardless. In Oregon, drivers are not allowed to merge into the bike lane, and must instead yield to cyclists before turning, but riders there should still tune in to activity all around them. For your own safety, don’t try to pass right-turning vehicles by cutting in front of them in the bike lane; slow down and let the driver turn.

Sidewalk or Multiuse Path
When you’re riding on the sidewalk, you are required to yield to pedestrians– assuming it’s legal to ride there in the first place. On a multiuse path, you’re required to follow rules regulating use, which are usually posted and typically address speed and right-of-way. Again, if you can touch the cyclist or pedestrian you are passing, you are too close for any significant speed. Move farther left, or slow down, and give an audible warning before passing.

Wide Road
Typically, if a lane is wide enough to share with a motorist and you are not moving at the speed of traffic, you must ride as close to the right as is safe (see BICYCLING.com/whereyoubelong to learn more). The general rule is that vehicles cannot pass on the right–but if the drivers to your left are traveling at a slower speed than you are, you don’t have to slow down to avoid passing them. Because the law requires you to share the lane, it also acknowledges that you will sometimes pass other vehicles, just as other vehicles will pass you.

Narrow Road
When lanes are too narrow to safely share with a motorist, you are allowed by law to take the full lane. If, say, a driver in front of you is slowing to park or enter a driveway, you may make a legal pass to the left, just as if you were driving a car.

Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, JD.

Continue reading “Take a Pass”

from Streetsblog.net by Angie Schmitt

A fix-it-first policy for roads. More support for livability programs. Additional transit investment. Competitive infrastructure grants. In his new six-year, $556 billion surface transportation proposal, President Obama is hitting all the right notes with transportation reform advocates.

As part of his 2012 budget proposal — released yesterday — the President put forward a plan that would double investment in transit, give a boost to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and generally chip away at policies that have led to billions going to waste on highways to nowhere.

Yeah, baby: The President’s 2012 budget proposal was greeted like a star by transportation reformers. Photo: The Globe and Mail

Across the Network, the plan is getting rave reviews.

Transportation for America‘s James Corless released a statement saying:

The Administration’s visionary reforms recognize where we are at this moment in history: Having built the world’s best highway and bridge network, we have to focus on preserving those aging assets while we build the missing pieces of a modern system that allows people and goods to get where they’re going cheaply, conveniently and safely.

Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic concurred:

The reforms announced by the Department of Transportation indicate how the Administration wants the Congress to move forward on a funding reauthorization bill, and the measures proposed make sense. The Highway Trust Fund would transform into the Transportation Trust Fund, providing new, specified accounts for highways, transit, high-speed rail, and an infrastructure bank (currently there are only highway and transit accounts). Transit agencies would be allowed to use some of their federal funding for operations, something that is not allowed under current federal guidelines. And the various grant-providing programs currently offered by Washington would be simplified. These would all be meaningful, useful improvements over the existing situation.

The NRDC‘s Deron Lovaas applauded the administration for thinking big:

This is a big, big budget proposal. And it should be. Transportation is the second biggest expense for most Americans, ahead of food and health care. The Administration is swinging for the fences on this one, and they’re going to get pushback from some conservatives. But transportation is one issue where both parties have a history of working together, and it’s an issue where the public expects bipartisan cooperation.

As Tanya noted yesterday, and as many bloggers alluded to, the big questions remaining are how the President’s proposal will be received in the Republican House, where cutting discretionary spending is all the rage, and in the Senate, which still rests in Democratic hands. Across the Network, bloggers had mixed opinions about the chances for bipartian cooperation on the critical issue of the nation’s infrastructure. Corless of T4A noted that the American public has indicated wide support for increased infrastructure spending. He added: “The task now is for the President and Congress to engage in the bipartisan problem-solving Americans expect in order to find ways to pay for the jobs-sustaining infrastructure they deserve.”

Continue reading “Transportation Reformers Applaud Obama’s Six-Year Transpo Plan”