Dooring bill passes VA Senate

Photo from NC Coalition for Bicycle Driving

The bill that would help prevent cyclists from being injured when a car door is suddenly opened, bringing Virginia in line with most other states, passed the Virginia Senate by a vote of 23-17. The bill, SB 736, is sponsored by NoVa Senator Chap Peterson. See the Post article about the bill, Fairfax senator's 'asinine' bill to protect cyclists from 'dooring' passes Virginia Senate easily.

The bill introduced by state Sen. Chap Petersen, of the ever-shifting Fairfax City and County district, to prohibit the “dooring” of cyclistspassed the Virginia Senate by a 23-17 vote Tuesday. Last week the Senate Transportation Committee approved it 7-6.

The bill instructs car drivers and passengers — as laws do in at least 40 states and D.C. — not to open their doors in the path of cyclists or any oncoming traffic. With no violation currently on Virginia books, injured cyclists often are rejected for medical coverage by insurance companies because no fault was assessed.

The bill was angrily denounced as an “asinine measure” and “embarrassing” by a Norfolk columnist.

Michael Gilbert of the cycling advocacy group Ride Richmond pointed out that the bill protects moving cars and drivers, who can be forced to swerve around or hit open car doors in traffic, as well as cyclists. Petersen said on his blog that the bill passed in part because “Senate Democrats stayed in peloton formation to support me . . . It now moves on to the Pyrenees, i.e. the House Transportation Committee.”

Guides to biking to the Inauguration

Biking is one of the best ways to get to the Inauguration on Monday. Metro will be very crowded and traffic on the roads will be a mess. You have many options when traveling by bike.

Transportation Nation has published Your Guide to Biking to the Inauguration. In the Burke Patch article written by Beth Lawton, Presidential Inauguration 2013: How to Bike to the Inauguration, FABB's Alan Young, WABA President Mark Blacknell, WABA's Greg Billing, and DCDOT's John Lisle provide some tips as well.

Bicycles are not allowed inside the security perimeter as indicated on the map above. There are two perimeters indicated by a dashed green line and inside that, by a red line. It appears bikes are allowed inside the area indicated in green, but be prepared for a long walk. Bike parking will be available on a first come, first served basis at 16th and I, just north of Lafayette Square. You'll need to arrive early and bring your own lock.

3 Minute Interview on winter riding

Photo by Shannon Ayres

I was interviewed recently by Kytja Weir of the Washington Examiner: THE 3 MINUTE INTERVIEW: Bruce Wright. She was interested in learning more about the challenges of winter riding. It's a brief article in which I touch on a few of the major issues.

It's always been puzzling to me why so many people put away their bikes for the winter when I think it's a great time to ride. When there's no snow or ice on the road, riding can be very pleasant.

The trails, especially the W&OD Trail, are mostly empty. It does get dark early and good lights are needed, especially out here in the suburbs. It would also be nice if NVRPA opened up the W&OD Trail to nighttime riding which we've heard they plan to do in the near future. In the interview I discuss some ways to cope with the cold.

The  photo on the right was submitted to the Examiner but didn't make it into the article. It was taken by Shannon Ayres. He's a photographer and bike commuter. He's is doing a series of photos of local bike commuters. The photo was taken on the W&OD Trail near Newton Square.

Update 18Jan2013 - The article appeared in print in today's Examiner.

SB 959 - Bill relating to W&OD Trail stop signs

We've mentioned several times that the STOP signs on the W&OD Trail road crossings are not enforceable. The latest incident we discussed was about a ticket issued to a cyclist on the Trail in Falls Church. That ticket was dismissed on the recommendation of the Commonwealth Attorney.

SB 959 is a bill making it's way through the Virginia legislature that "Allows local governing bodies to adopt ordinances requiring users of shared-use paths to stop before crossing highways at marked crosswalks." According to the Virginia Bicycling Federation, yesterday the bill made it out of the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill would in effect make the W&OD Trail STOP signs enforceable.

As we've stated earlier, we think police use the STOP signs as a way of harassing cyclists during "sting" operations along the Trail. We think the current law, which is being modified by the proposed bill,  is sufficient to handle situations where a trail crosses a road with a crosswalk. Pedestrians, and cyclists, must not "enter or cross an intersection in disregard of approaching traffic" and motorists "shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian crossing such highway." We can't dart out into the crosswalk, but once in the crosswalk motorists must yield. The STOP signs just complicate the situation and have been used as an excuse by motorists not to stop for bicyclists in the crosswalk.

The bill was sponsored by Senator Favola based on a request by the Loudoun Sheriff Department. This is the same department that ticketed cyclists for not putting a foot down at an intersection along the route of the  Reston Century this year.  Loudoun sheriffs are also notorious for targeting cyclists on the MS 150 in 2009. A representative from the department spoke in support of the bill. Thankfully a rep from NVRPA spoke out against the bill.

We have contacted Senator Favola's office and stated our concerns. We're hoping she will abandon the bill.

Following too closely bill passes House Transportation Subcommittee

HB 1950 is the VA House bill that would modify the current bill on following too closely so that it would apply to bicyclists. Thanks to all the cyclists who responded to alerts sent out by FABB, WABA, and others to ask Del. Barbara Comstock to support the bill. She reported today that she voted in favor of the bill and that it passed unanimously in the House Transportation Subcommittee. This is a great sign of bi-partisan support and bodes well for the bill once it reaches the House floor. Your support was key in getting this bill past. Thanks to Del. Comstock for her support.

Update: We've heard that there was a minor change in the bill that would could effectively make it illegal for bicyclists to follow each other closely.  We'll post more news as we learn the details.

Update 2: The similar Senate bill, SB 1060, does not contain this language. It also changes the vehicle passing distance from two feet to three feet. If this bill passes, then the two bills will be reconciled and there's a chance the language from HB 1950 could be changed.

Latest VDOT SRTS Mini-grants awarded

VDOT just announced the awarding of several new $1,000 Quick Start Mini-grants. Congratulations to Laurel Ridge Elementary School located south of GMU. They received a grant to purchase bike racks to "Promote Biking to School." However, Fairfax County Public School staff have said they would provide bike racks to any school that needed them. We plan to find out details.

Congratulations also to Cunningham Park Elementary School in Vienna. They received funds for "Walking Wednesdays, Bike Rodeo, and Pedestrian and Bike Safety." Let's hope we'll be seeing more kids walking and biking to school this year.

Discovering Fairfax history by bike

Kelley, our FABB member who has been working on developing historical rides in Fairfax County, has broken the highway markers out into two main categories.

The first is based on history. If you're interested in developing a route based on particular time frames (pre-Civil War, Civil War, 20th Century, African American history), she is happy to send you the information that way.

However, where Kelley (and FABB) need your help is in developing rides based on local information. The historical markers put up by the state and county will be the framework, but your local stories will help connect them, and your local knowledge of riding conditions, paths, and streets is essential to making these rides accessible to all.

If you live in any of the following areas and are interested in seeing what Kelley's doing, and offering your local knowledge, please e-mail us and she will get in touch with you.

McLean
Fairfax City
Burke/Springfield
South County
Mount Vernon/Rt. 1
Bailey's Crossroads
Seven Corners/Falls Church
Vienna/Reston
Herndon/Reston

Do you live in another area? Are you interested in what your area might have? Contact us!