| Subject: | RE: Bicycles on roadway shoulders |
|---|---|
| Date: | Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:47:42 -0500 |
| From: | Robinson, Bill C <Bill.C.Robinson@wv.gov> |
| To: | Kimberly Jo <kimberlyjoshi@gmail.com> |
| CC: | Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@verizon.net>, Hudson, Jim E <Jim.E.Hudson@wv.gov>, Simmons, Harold R <Harold.R.Simmons@wv.gov>, Warner, Richard L <Richard.L.Warner@wv.gov>, Stanevich, Ron L <Ron.L.Stanevich@wv.gov> |
| References: | <9F99D851A5A1AA42BC98EF491E731F8F31967E@WVOTMAIL04.executive.stateofwv.gov> <4AE740C8.8050400@verizon.net> <9F99D851A5A1AA42BC98EF491E731F8FD24DAE@WVOTMAIL04.executive.stateofwv.gov> <bf837ff30911030817j7f632cc2ya2297cd14213fc3b@mail.gmail.com> |
Kim
–
Regretfully,
I would like to ask that you not distribute the
draft plan you received. This version is only the second draft; it has
never left our Division; it has never been seen by the top-level
managers in
the WVDOH (such as the Secretary/Commissioner or the State Highway
Engineer);
it really has no standing. It is what I’ve told you that it is:
simply a draft “starting point”. We’ve already done one
extensive re-write; we expect probably at least one more before
submittal to
higher level management. We have started with everything we think may
be
possible for the WVDOH to achieve, but obviously without management
“buy-in”
we can’t promise anything. To release this draft plan (which was
meant to only be reviewed internally in the WVDOH) may jeopardize or
complicate
the process; if WVDOH management is in disagreement or apprehensive
about any
of the draft recommendations, public comment at this point may erode
our
ability to sway people internally on what might be perceived (again,
internally) as questionable directions for the WVDOH. In addition, in
the
interest of fairness to the citizens, we don’t want to “piecemeal”
drafts out to people without all interested parties having a chance to
view it
at the same time.
As
in our earlier conversations, when we have a version of this
plan that the WVDOH management is comfortable with, the WVDOH will have
a
public comment period and will welcome input from the bicycle community
and all
the interested citizens, but we’re not at that point right now and
receiving comments on a “rough” draft document that may change
significantly
won’t be helpful to the WVDOH or a good use of the time and energy of
the
bicycle community at this point. So please, just take a look at the
draft, see it as an indicator of the larger picture of what the WVDOH
is trying
to do and I’ll contact you when we are ready for public comment.
Bill
William
C. Robinson
State
Trail Coordinator
Progam
Manager, Recreational Trails Program
WVDOH
Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator
Chairman,
West Virginia Recreational Trails Advisory Board
West
Virginia Department of Transportation
Division
of Highways
Program
Planning and Administration Division
1900
Kanawha Boulevard, East
Building
5, Room 863
Charleston,
West Virginia 25305-0430
(304)558-9615
Fax – (304)558-3783
"The
life of the
artist is, in relation to his work, stern and lonely. He has labored
hard,
often
amid depravation, to perfect his skill. He has turned
aside from quick success in
order
to strip his vision of everything secondary or cheapening.
His working life is
marked
by intense application and intense discipline." -
John F. Kennedy, 1962
From: Kimberly
Jo
[mailto:kimberlyjoshi@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 11:18 AM
To: Robinson, Bill C
Subject: Fwd: Bicycles on roadway shoulders
What's up Bill? Can
I
distribute this to our list.
Thanks!
---------- Forwarded
message
----------
From: Stanevich, Ron L <Ron.L.Stanevich@wv.gov>
Date: Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Subject: RE: Bicycles on roadway shoulders
To: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@verizon.net>
Cc: Kim Broughton <kimberlyjoshi@gmail.com>
Frank / Kim
Thanks for your
responses last week.
I’ve attached a
draft copy of the
WVDOH’s Bicycle / Ped Plan (note, I don’t think that this is the
actual title, but because this is a draft copy, some of the titles are
missing).
In this plan are
several changes to
current WVDOH Policies and changes that the DOH intends to make to the
WV Code
in the very near future. Please note the DOH is only making changes
that
we feel affect its operations and issues. What I’m told that
has been the direction given from our management.
Nevertheless I’ve
been
“befriended” some of the employees in Planning and they’ve
given me these draft copies to review. I asked if I could circulate
them
to friends for comments. They said they had no problem with that.
So that’s what I’m doing.
If you have comments
on any of these
proposals. Please feel free to submit them to me as soon as
possible. I have no clue as to when the Division plans to submit this,
or
what the rest of the review process is like or consists of. Again,
it’s not my section. But the sooner you can get me comments,
I will forward them on to the appropriate individuals.
Frank… concerning
our
correspondence last week about the shoulder riding, the division has
proposed a
change to 17C-11-5 by adding a section (d) that states that Nothing
in this
Chapter shall be construed as prohibiting persons from riding bicycles
on or
along the shoulders or a street or highway.
Anyhow, I thought I
would circulate
these proposals for a wider reviewing audience. I did say
that I would try to get comments back to them shortly and they would
look at
them. Again this is just a draft proposal of WVDOH Policies, and
changes to the State Code that deal with DOH issues in regards to
Pedestrians
and Bicycles.
Please feel free to
review circulate and
comment back to me if you wish, and I’ll try to make sure they get to
the
appropriate personnel.
Ron
Stanevich, PE
Specifications
Engineer
West Virginia Division
Of Highways
Contract Administration
1900 Kanawha Blvd East
Bldg 5, RM 722
304.558.9556
From:
Frank Gmeindl [mailto:fgmeindl@verizon.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 2:50 PM
To: Stanevich, Ron L
Cc: Kimberly Jo
Subject: Re: Bicycles on roadway shoulders
Ron,
Thanks for contacting me. I hope the class is stimulating and
informative. Wish I were there with you! I have a lot to learn:)
The WV code is unclear whether bicyclists are permitted to drive their
bicycles
on shoulders. Since the code doesn't explicitly address bicycling on
shoulders, one could argue that it is permitted. However, a problem
arises when a cyclist is injured while bicycling on the shoulder or
when a bicyclist
while bicycling on the shoulder, injures someone. The WV code only
says
that bicyclists have the same rights and duties as motorists when
they're on
the roadway.
WV code 17C-1-37 explicitly excludes the shoulder from the definition
of
"Roadway". Specifically, 17C-1-37 says,
""Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed,
or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or
shoulder."
That is, according to WV code, the shoulder is not part of the roadway.
Why is that important? It's important because WV code 17C-11-2 only
gives
cyclists equal right to motorists when the bicyclist is bicycling on
the
roadway. Explicitly, 17C-11-2 says, "Every person riding a bicycle upon
a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject
to all of
the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter,
except as to
special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions
of this
chapter which by their nature can have no application."
I am surprised that the NHI instructor believes that WV's State Code
falls back
on the Uniform Vehicle Code because the WVDOH told me otherwise.
Here's a
quote from a December 17 e-mail from Ray Lewis, WVDOT Staff Engineer -
Traffic
Research and Special Projects to Bill Robinson, WVDOH
Bicycle/Pedestrian
Coordinator
"The UVC is a model
code, like many other model
codes. There is no requirement that West Virginia adopt it, or conform
to
it. The WV Code language governs in all cases. We were able for
several years to have bills introduced in the Legislature to have the
WV CODE
brought into conformity with the UVC; our efforts repeatedly failed."
Kim Broughton was
copied on that e-mail.
The reason this came up is that Bill, Ray and I were discussing
17C-11-5 that
says, "Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as
near
to the right side of the roadway as practicable...". I cited
the UVC that clarifies "as near to the right as practicable" and
above was Mr. Lewis' response.
I hope this answers your question. Please let me know how it turns out.
Frank Gmeindl
League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor #1703
Chairman, Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board
On 10/27/2009 1:58 PM, Stanevich, Ron L wrote:
Mr.
Gmeindle
I'm currently in a NHI bicycle & pedestrian facilities class. The
instructors here from FHWA feel that WV's State Code falls back on the
Universal Vehicle Code when it comes to the subject issue.
I remember at this past summer's Symposium, it was discussed that
bicycles were
not allowed on roadway shoulders.
I was trying to find where this issue is addressed in state code, and
Kim
Broughton passed me along to you.
Thanks
Ron Stanevich
WVDOH
Message sent from my Blackberry!
--
Kimberly Broughton
Creative Crosswalks, LLC
kimberlyjoshi@gmail.com
304.483.1685