Good morning, Some good news and good advice in this article that was on the Thunderhead list recently. Morgantown and WV have a mandatory sidepath law, meaning that a bicyclist can be faulted in an accident if there is a sidepath next to the road and doesn't use it. I think most people would think that the law isn't much of a threat because of the insignificant number of sidepaths anywhere in WV, but I would have said the same about Wyoming.
Nick Hein
---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Tim Young tyoung@wyoming.com Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:01:01 -0700
Greetings Thunderheaders, I am very pleased to report that Wyoming has expanded the rights of cyclists to ride on the road by repealing the mandatory sidepath law here.
Yes, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal has signed the bill into law! It is now legal for cyclists to ride on the road even if an adjacent pathway is available. Friends of Pathways partnered with Cycle Wyoming, sponsors of the Tour de Wyoming, in working on this successful legislation.
The bill passed the Wyoming House 55-4 in favor, and the Senate vote was just as strong, 27-2 on third reading. Considering this was only our first trip to the legislature, we are absolutely thrilled with this level of success.
However, a lesson: One of the things that surfaced is that bicycles/bicyclists have quite a bad reputation, at least in the legislature and in the minds of many we spoke with. We won this bill mostly on enhancing pedestrian safety, not on improving bike safety. In my opinion, advocates and industry folks have a lot of work to do to improve the perception of bicycling. I¹m not saying the detractors are right, just that many in power believe cyclists are bad actors.
If it might be useful, I wanted to share a couple strategies that helped us:
- We were able to interest a committee in the bill, which in Wyoming gave it a
better statistical chance than one sponsored by a legislator.
- We secured the support of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the
Director testified in favor, as did the Colonel of the WY Highway Patrol.
- We hired an excellent lobbyist, with strong connections to the leading party
and personal relationships with key members of both houses. Best money we spent. It was not that expensive.
- The advocates made several trips to testify, even when it looked good. We
brought in multiple voices, from different locations in the state, making it a statewide bill. Folks wrote, emailed, called. It helps.
- We had a death/problem example to point to: a rollerblader was killed on one
of our pathways when a bicyclist collided with him last summer. (note, this was not a pathway problem, the path is excellent quality)
Our message included the following points:
- Eliminating this outdated law is in the best interest of Wyoming and has the
support of Wyoming Dept. of Transportation Director, John Cox. It will help modernize Wyoming¹s laws for bicycling.
- This law allows bicycles the legal option to access their homes and
workplaces from the road if the road is more efficient or closer than a pathway.
- This law allows bicycles to use a safe road shoulder when a pathway is
crowded with slower users, or if the pathway is not maintained properly for safe use.
- Protects important tourism events such as the Tour de Wyoming, where
hundreds of bicyclists visit communities around the state each summer.
Hope this is helpful, and your legislative projects are equally successful. Best regards, Tim ------------------------------ Tim Young Executive Director
Friends of Pathways P.O. Box 2062 Jackson, WY 83001 307-733-4534 office 307-699-1407 mobile tim@friendsofpathways.org ------------------------------