Biking bills in the state legislature
The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, as a partner organization of Georgia Bikes!, is following these bills in the Georgia General Assembly. We encourage all who want better conditions for biking to contact their legislators to ask for their support.
Update
House Bill 101, the "Better Bicycling Bill," passed the full Senate on Tuesday, April 12. As it was amended to add the 3 feet safe passing stipulation, it now goes back to the House for a vote. Click for the full story then contact your state Representative to support this bill!
Don't know who that is? Enter your address at congress.org (Just be sure you contact your state Senator and not your federal Senators).
For the latest version of the bill, click here. For a white paper summarizing the changes made by the bill, click here.
- HB 101, also known as the "Better Bicycling" bill, cleans up and modernizes a long list of outdated codes related to bicycling. For details, see the HB 101 white paper.
Status: Passed Public Safety Cmte, passed House (93-73) on 2/17/11. On to the Senate... - HB 180, the 3 feet safe passing bill, defines three feet as the minimum safe distance a motorist must use when overtaking a cyclist. When passed, this legislation will be called the "Tony Serrano Act," in honor of the triathlete and beloved father who was tragically killed by a passing vehicle in 2004. White paper for details.
Status: Passed the House Public Safety Committee - unanimously - Wed March 2. Please contact your representative ASAP to ask for their support when the bill is voted on by the full House. Passage is far from certain.2a) Companion bill introduced in Senate, SB 126.
Status: In Senate Public Safety Committee. - HB 71, would legalize sidewalk biking. We're concerned this will result in more bicycle crashes, injuries, and fatalities if enacted. Here's why. Status: in Rules as of 2/28/11.
Click here to find and contact your legislators.
Read more for contact details and to take action on 3 Feet Safe Passing bills in the GA House and Senate.
On Wed, March 2, HB 180 passed the House Public Safety Committee - unanimously! Notes Georgia Bikes!, "While that's a success in itself, the real challenge lies just ahead. The full House will be voting on the bill soon, and its passage is anything but certain. Citizen outreach absolutely helped HB 101 pass by a slim margin last month." Please contact your representative to ask for their support.
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SB 126, the sister bill to HB 180, is in the Senate Public Safety Committee. Below you will find a list of PS Committee members & their email addresses. Please take a moment to share your thoughts on the merits of SB 126!
Senate
Public Safety Committee
Grant, Johnny - Chairman johnny.grant@senate.ga.gov
Albers, John - Vice Chairman info@senatoralbers.com
Hamrick, Bill - Secretary bill.hamrick@senate.ga.gov
Butler, Gloria S. gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov
Carter, Jason jason.carter@senate.ga.gov
Ligon, Jr., William T. william.ligon@senate.ga.gov
Murphy, Jack jack.murphy@senate.ga.gov
Seay, Valencia valencia.seay@senate.ga.gov
Visit Georgia Bikes! to stay informed on these issues and more.
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Comments
Mixed feelings
For those against biking on sidewalks how about real bicycle lanes ? How about pushing for lanes that make bikers feel safer on the roads ! I had the chance to attend a presentation with ABC on creating bicycle friendly spaces! If you get a chance check out http://www.8-80cities.org/! I bike down Edgewood ave and there are cars parked in the bike lane!
definitely
We definitely need more bike lanes. We work on this every single day - the most recent accomplishment (and these things take a very long time sometimes) is that Cascade Road west of White Street in SW Atlanta is getting a bike lane! But we are far from achieving the ambitious goals in the Connect Atlanta Plan. If you haven't already let your council member or commissioner and mayor know you want more bike lanes, please do it today. The support of constituents is what makes these things happen.
One more note - HB 101, which was passed by the state House today (!) defines a bike lane and makes it illegal to park in one.
I understand HB 71 (Sidewalk
I understand HB 71 (Sidewalk biking) allows local jurisdictions to permit riding on the sidewalk. Are there local jurisdictions that are considering this?
Although I've been coaching other cyclists for 30 years now about the dangers of intersections and how much worse those intersections are when you're not on the road, I will gladly listen to someone who can make a case for situations where it is safer for the cyclist to be on the sidewalk. Henry made a case for a situation where he uses the sidewalk. Perhaps there are other places I'm not aware. I'd love to hear about them. It would be an opportunity for interesting discussion and exchange of information.
About the patchwork of laws, I agree it would be good to be consistent. Where I live (City of Atlanta), it is illegal for adults to ride on any sidewalks and for kids to ride on sidewalks in a business district. On my street (N Highland), the kids would be getting on and off their bikes every quarter mile. The way I've tried to gain consistency is to get my kids comfortable with using the street and learning to negotiate for space on the road with traffic. (I think they're safer automobile drivers for this.)
It's great that we're discussing these topics. Our laws can be as much a part of education as what we learn in school -- particularly those of us who are no longer in school ;-).
Sidewalk biking
U.S. studies have found that most bike-car crashes happen at intersections, and that more happen to cyclists on sidewalks or bike trails. Those riding on a sidewalk have many more intersections where an exiting motorist may not scan for anyone on the sidewalk, especially someone moving above walking speed (3 mph).
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Although it is less safe, sometimes car-using politicians have wanted bicyclists out of their way on the roads, and so have passed laws to force bicyclists to use the sidewalk. These were not popular with cyclists. I worry that laws like these could be passed again. Instead of such laws, part of our message to politicians should be, "The best way to get cyclists out of your way on the road is to build a nicer place. I am not tempted to ride the Freedom Parkway, for instance, because the Freedom Parkway Trail is much more attractive to me.
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Having said that, my mother lives by a busy intersection. At times of low traffic, I ride through the intersection, then wait in the center lane to turn left in the driveway. With more traffic, I turn left at the intersection, then immediately (and illegally) ride up the sidewalk to he drive. It feels safer than blocking the center lane (and large numbers of motorists behind me) for 30 seconds as I wait for cross traffic.
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But I ride slower on the sidewalk, and try to apologize to anyone walking. As someone once said to me, "It's a Side-WALK, not a Side-RIDE!"
Not Supporting HB 101 in its current form
I disagree that HB 101 is good for cyclists. Some portions are, but others are not. I lay out my reasoning at my own blog.
HB101
Thanks for the well-thought out comments on your blog post. Please see my responses below:
"# The bill specifically prohibits the transportation of a child under one year of age in a bicycle or bicycle trailer."
I actually agree with you about the child under 1 issue although I understand Rep McKillip's reasoning - helmets are not designed for the under 1 set due to the just-developing ability of their necks to support their heads. We argued this point, taking the position that a car seat strapped into a bike trailer is a safe alternative, but couldn't change his mind as we could not cite a trailer specifically designed with holding a car seat in mind - anyone know of one?
I encourage anyone with concerns about this section to contact the bill's sponsor or their representatives. I think parents should probably make this determination, not legislators.
Secondly, "The bill allows for local authorities to prohibit bikes from a roadway and require them to use the adjacent bicycle path unless “…petitioned to remove restrictions upon demonstration that the bicycle path has become inadequate due to capacity, maintenance, or other causes.”"
This is current state law BUT as there are no BICYCLE paths in Georgia, only multi-use paths, and no plans to build any, it's a moot point although I can see how it would cause concern.
Again, thanks for your comments and please let your legislator know a) you are paying attention and b) these bills matter to you!