Chip,
In response to Christina's request for Point Pleasant help, I offer the following. Up until last year and for decades prior, Morgantown had an ordinance identical to the Far to the Right ordinance which Christina quoted. Last year, Morgantown City Council repealed that. Morgantown also repealed mandatory side path use; repealed the requirement for a bell and added a 3-foot passing rule for motorists.
With regard to the 3-foot passing law, since that applies to motorists, it would not be in article 373 which applies to bicyclists. Morgantown's 3-foot passing rule is in article 337.03 Overtaking, Passing to Left; Driver's Duties.
Attached file, MgtnCodeBikeUpdateDeltas.docx contains a comparison of 2015 revisions to Morgantown bicycle-relevant ordinances with those ordinances prior to 2015.
IMHO, the most important article in both Morgantown and WV code is Morgantown 373.02 and WV 17C-11-2 which say, "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..." Rather than tinkering with ordinances and making it easy for some politician to take away our equal rights to the road, I recommend that we all first learn the rules and obey them.
Before Point Pleasant jumps on the bandwagon for defined distance passing rules, I would suggest reading or at least scanning "The 3 ft. Law: Lessons Learned from a National Analysis of State Policies and Expert Reviews": http://njbikeped.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/3-Foot-Final-Report-Draft_V7...
Frank D. Gmeindl LCI #1703 Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles
On Jan 8, 2016, at 1:10 PM, Christina Hunt c.hunt@wvhub.org wrote:
Hi everybody! I mentioned at our meeting last night that Point Pleasant has a very active cycling group. They’re considering applying for BFC status, and Gabe Roush, one of their committee members, has asked the Bike Board to take a look at Point Pleasant’s bike ordinance for suggestions, improvements, etc. (see Gabe’s email below). I attached the ordinance to this email as a pdf, or you can find it online here: Point Pleasant Bike Ordinance
One thing I noticed – this ordinance requires cyclists to ride as far to the right as possible. Seems like something they may want to change? There is also no mention of the 3 foot passing law. 373.05 RIDING ON ROADWAYS AND BICYCLE PATHS. (a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.
Ordinance experts (Jonathons or others) – would you be able to give Point Pleasant some feedback/suggestions for their bike ordinance and/or point them to some awesome ordinances (in WV or other states)? Gabe’s email is gabe.roush@gmail.com
One more thing: you all may already know this, but given that many cyclists can’t come to the both days of the Bike Summit, WV Connecting Communities has created a Sunday-only registration for $20. Here’s a link to registration: Bike Summit January 24 Sunday only registration is now OPEN for the WV Bike Summit! Only $20 for program and reception on Sunday night. Here is the agenda: All events start at Charleston Marriott 12:00 p.m. 35 mile bike ride. Easy to moderate ride to celebrate cycling. 3:00 p.m. Easy ride in the city of Charleston with police escort. Join hundreds of cyclists on a casual ride in the city. Maybe the largest group ride in the history of WV? 5:00 p.m. Reception at the Marriott. Join other cyclists from across the state as we begin to build a network where we can all access and build a better cycling network in Almost Heaven. 5:30 p.m. Dale Porter of cyclingscenicwv.com presents the best cycling routes in the state. 6:15 p.m. Shane Cusick, ASLA, LEED AP| Program & Outreach Manager Bike Virginia - Shane will present Bike Virginia to our group. The reception will continue until we are tired of talking about cycling. Share with your cycling friends. This will be a chance to gather cyclists from across the state and get to know each other.
Thanks! Christina c.hunt@wvhub.org
From: Gabe Roush [mailto:gabe.roush@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, January 8, 2016 8:49 AM To: Christina Hunt c.hunt@wvhub.org Subject: Point Pleasant Bicycle Ordinance
Hello again!
I've been looking into the Bike Friendly designation ever since you had sent me the information about it. I finally came across our town's bike ordinance, and I was wondering if you would be willing to run it by the folks at the bike board in Morgantown to see if they feel that it is up to date. I'm pretty sure it is comparable to that of the state's law. The only flaw that I have found was that there is no mention of the allowance of 3 ft when a motorist passes a cyclist.
It is Article 373 on page 87.
Thanks!
-- Gabriel Roush, ATC
Holzer Health System
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