River Road Cycling Ban
REFERENCE MATERIAL
From: Regina Patton On Behalf Of Gary Moore, January 21, 2009 ; To: J. Sammons
Subject: RE: House Bill 95
Dear Mr. Sammons:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding HB 95. This legislation came about as a direct result of constituents who live on River Road contacting me and asking me to do something about the problem. I was unaware there was a problem until contacted by constituents. I have been told horror stories of near misses between motorists and cyclists on this curvy road with no shoulders. The people who actually live on this stretch are very concerned about the danger.
If I proceed with this bill, it will be fully debated and both sides will be given adequate time and consideration before any vote is taken. Although some may see me and the bill as you described in your last paragraph, others see it as a way to possibly save lives.
I sincerely appreciate hearing from both sides of any issue and I need and value your input. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
State Representative Gary Moore
House District 50, 35 Legislative Plaza, Nashville, TN 37243
615-741-4317 phone 615-253-0360 fax
HOUSE BILL 0342/SENATE BILL 0276
Sponsor: State Representative Gary Moore, House District 50
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 8, relative to operation of bicycles on roadways.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-8-172, is amended by deleting the present language in its entirety and by substituting instead the following language:
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title, except as to special regulations in §§ 55-8-171 — 55-8-177, and except as to those provisions of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title that by their nature can have no application.
(b) No person shall operate a bicycle on any segment of River Road in Davidson County between United States High-way 70 / State Route 24 (Charlotte Pike) and the Cheatham County line.
(c) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. The department of transportation is directed to erect suitable signs or affix suitable markers on the segment of River Road in Davidson County between United States Highway 70 / State Route 24 (Charlotte Pike) and the Cheatham County line to provide notice of this act to the motoring public.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, the public welfare requiring it.
Comments by Gary Moore
-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Day, January 27, 2009 To: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com
Subject: [TNBikeAdvocates] Following bills
This is a link to follow Tennessee bills. Login name biker Password biker
ROAD DESCRIPTION
by T. Evans 2/9/09
- Narrow Two-Lane Road
- NO Shoulder w/drop-off's & rails
- Traffic Level is Moderate with cars
and heavy trucks
- Speed Posted at 50mph, but most
traffic moves at 60mph
- Visibility is typically 100yds on 80%
with hills & curves
Limited visibilty, absence of shoulders, and high speed traffic, can potentially cause above-average motorist/cyclist conflicts.
Gary Moore's HB0095 banning bikers on River Road has now been changed to HB 342 and has a companion Senate Bill SB 0276 sponsored by Senator Haynes. You can view the latest bills at:
6) Organization Opposition
From: Thomas F. O'Connell, President, Walk/Bike Nashville Feb 10, 2009 To: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com, et al.
Tonight the board of Walk/Bike Nashville voted formally to oppose the bill(s). Our Advocacy Committee is now working on a plan of action to best mobilize our membership and otherwise express our opposition.
1) Setting SPEED LIMITS
From: Jessica Wilson, February 25, 2009 To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
On the question of design speeds I had to check with my brother-in-law who happens to be an Engineer at TDOT and this is his response:
"Speed limits are generally set by the local legislative bodies. (county, city) The criteria for setting the speed limit is usually
set by the following procedure:
A radar study is performed measuring how fast vehicles are traveling on the roadway. They then take the 85th Percentile, which means they set the speed which covers what the bottom 85% of vehicles are traveling at. Other factors that go into setting the speed limit could be terrain, road geometry, accident history, and community environments like adjacent schools and neighborhoods.
Design Speed is usually set higher than the speed limit. The reason being that you want to design a roadway where it can be safely driven above the set speeds that vehicles will be allowed to travel at. Think of it as a factor of safety. We calculate the design speeds by using our standard drawings. On the majority of the projects that we receive in Region 1, the design speed has been set by the Transportation Planning Report and we just check it to the standards."
RIVER ROAD SAFETY AUDIT
From: Jessica Wilson, February 25, 2009
To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
River Road Safety Audit Review is now a public document and accessible for the next 5 days at http://webftp.tdot.state.tn.us/.
Click "Business Partner" button, Click "Receive Files", and Select File: RSAR Davidson SR251_021609signed.pdf. Save file to your computer.
I offer a couple of disclaimers:
1) Road Safety Audit Review projects are funded by federal safety money and a rather small pot of money is available for safety improvements, so generally its used for striping, guardrails, etc. Unfortunately, adding shoulders usually isn't an option due to cost.
2) There is no recommendations regarding bicycle/pedestrian usage in the River Road RSAR. We hope this is about to change- myself and the bike/ped coordinators for each MPO are supposed to be invited on this next cycle of Road Safety Audit Reviews (RSARs) so that we can offer a safety perspective for bike/peds.
(abridged - large photos removed)
Identified as a High Risk Rural Road
BILL IS TEMPORARILY OFF NOTICE 2/24/09
Much information has been shared by Bicycle Advocates relative to this pending legislation. The pertinent facts and not the opinions are gathered on this page under the heading REFERENCE MATERIAL. For complete discussion refer to TNBikeAdvocates.
The order of listing is arbitrary.
1) Setting Speed Limits
2) Feedback from Legislators
3) Cycling Safety
4) Road Finances
5) Discriminatory Aspect of the Bill
6) Organization Opposition
7) Cycling Accidents on River Road
8) Other Actions to Ban Bikes From Roads
- Bikes Successfully Banned from FM 455
2) Feedback fro State Legislators
From: Phillip Johnson, State Representative - 78th District, 24 Feb 2009 To: Bruce Day <bruday@comcast.net>
I strongly oppose the bill. You may want to voice your concerns to the sponsor of the bill Representative Gary Moore of Davidson County
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From: Jessica Wilson, February 23, 2009 To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
My friend followed up with Sen. Haynes' staff and here's the deal: Sen. Doug Henry (who presides over the district in which River Road is located) would not sponsor the bill, so that is why Sen. Haynes took it. His staff said that his office has been inundated with angry calls regarding this bill, and it all came about because there is a constituent who lives on River Road that is scared she is going to kill someone one of these days due to blind spots. On the up side, my friend suggested that since this bill is not in Sen. Haynes' district, it is unlikely he will really push for it if there is a large outcry.
------------------------------
From: Nik the Stik, February 17, 2009 To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
Subject: Verbatim Response from Senator Black
Tim, I am not sure why Senator Haynes has filed this bill but I do understand the ramifications of this legislation to bikers. I explore this with Sen. Haynes and I can tell you that from where it stands at this point, I will not support this bill. Thank you, Senator Black
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From: Wanner, Glen A, February 16, 2009 To: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com
I know that Mayor Dean's office is watching this closely and is likely to try to try to quietly stop this before it goes much further. Still, my main question is how much notice will we get before it goes to committee in either chamber. I put in a call to the TN Environmental Council but have not heard back. If anyone is in the know on this whole process, please share you insights.
----------------------------
From: Bruce Day, January 16, 2009 To: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com
A couple of the Fogbees have sent their own emails and one received the following reply from Mike McDonald. He represents part of Sumner County.
Dear Mr. Lewis, Thank you for you recent email regarding House Bill 95. I am opposed to any bill that would ban bicycle riding on public roads or streets. I will do what I can to help defeat this legislation. Please keep me informed regarding the status of the legislation and I'll be glad to help. Anytime I may be of assistance to you or your family, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely, Mike McDonald
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From: Susan Lynn <rep.susan.lynn@capitol.tn.gov> State Representative - 57th District, Jan 21,2009 To: Bruce Day
Subject: RE: HB0095
Dear Dr. Day, Thank you very much for contacting me about HB95. I agree with you and I will not support such a law. Thank you very much for taking the time to write me. Please write again anytime you have a question or comment.
3) Cycling Safety
From: Bud Laumer, AICP, LCI#2210, Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator: Arkansas, February 25, 2009
To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
I put a file up on your Google Group http://groups.google.com/group/TNBikeAdvocates/files?hl=en that I recommend you take a look at and consider adapting for your use in your safety education efforts. It is from Florida, and it does a great job of describing the differences between PERCEIVED SAFETY and ACTUAL SAFETY of cyclists. I use it all the time to get people to see that what they fear and what they SHOULD fear are two very different things in almost every case. You will recognize LAB Vehicular Cycling
in some of this, but it is from an MPO, so the Government Types will enjoy it more than something from the League.
4) Road Finances
From: Tom Evans, February 23, 2009 To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
Any time someone mentions "Bicycles have equal rights to the road," someone will comment "then you ought to pay road taxes." Actually we do. I did some research on this subject and found how roads are financed from the municipality to the Fed's. Gasoline & Wheel Taxes aren't the only source of revenue. The following link give all the information needed.
5) Disciminatory Action of the Bill
From: JNorrisLaw@aol.com, January 18, 2009
It's worth pointing out that River Road has a number of dead end side streets and is not on a bus route. If bikes are banned, this means anyone who lives on River Road or one of these side streets will have to get to work, shopping, etc. by car or by foot. The narrow shoulders and distances involved make walking problematic. So for someone who can't afford a car, or chooses to live without a car (and shouldn't we all support that choice in any reasonable way), or can't drive for any of several reasons, including the loss of his/her driving privileges, it's either bum a ride with a friend or try and come with twenty bucks for a cab. This bill discriminates against the poor, is anti-environment and will lead to illegal driving. It is an ill-advised attempt to solve a problem that is either non-existent or trivial.
7) Cycling Accidents on River Road
From: Leslie Thompson, January 16, 2009 To: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com, et al.
The (2003-2007) data obtained is unofficial but does not show bicyclists being involved in accidents on River Road. HB0095 was filed January 15, 2008 by Rep. Gary Moore. If you would like to track the bill and find you State Rep, see the links below.
From: Thomas Grooms, January 17, 2009 To: Glen Wanner Cc: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com; et al.
A good friend did have a very serious crash on River Road, but, as Glen stated, it did not invovle an automobile. My friend apparently lost control and struck his head on the payment. He was a very experienced cyclist, and it was never really determined what happened because he had a serious head injury and cannot remember (He was wearing a helmut, by the way.)
8) Other Actions to Ban Bikes From Roads
From: "Carr, Stephen", January 15, 2009
Perhaps folks on this list can provide insight to the following: I recall bikes being banned, then allowed again, on Wilson Pike in Brentwood, probably in the 1980s. Anyone remember the facts on that? I recall bikes being banned on a section of highway in Memphis along the Wolf River. That ban stood for quite a while, but I don't know if it is still in effect. Anyone know? Does anyone have a history of the recent actions (last year or so) toward banning bikes from some roads in Williamson County and how that was taken off the table? My thinking is what was learned from these previous experiences that may apply to River Road? I also agree knowing the background for Mr. Moore's bill is crucial.
From: Bud Curtis, January 19, 2009 To: TNBikeAdvocates@googlegroups.com
The HBC faced an issue in Williamson County in 2007 in which anti-cycling folks tried to get certain roads restricted to cyclists in the county. The issue was addressed at a commissioners meeting by the HBC in an objective calm professional manner with facts and understanding. The opposition's presentation was subjective and emotional. The result was non action on the part of the commissioners. Additionally, the diverse membership of HBC encompasses many non-cycling individuals throughout the community in which the elected officials serve. Usually, the elected officials will react positively to the methodical persuasion of a larger number of constituents than the ranting of a few disgruntled citizens.
SIDEBAR From Tom Evans: We reported more indepth on the above incident in two of our newsletters:
From: Jessica Wilson, January 16, 2009 To: Tennessee Bicycling Advocates
FYI- Found this article about a similar ban in TX while doing research today. DEJA VUE
Bicycle ban angers cyclists Anna: Riders want access to popular route; city cites safety issues
Friday, May 19, 2006 By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
FM455 in Anna is quite curvaceous but has no shoulders. Such a combination could be deadly, say city officials, who have
banned cycling along the road. An ordinance prohibiting bikes on the road cites the "danger and peril" of sharp curves and hills, limited vision, lack of a shoulder and an expected traffic increase. "We're going to have a tragedy because that guy or that woman driving that car isn't going to see them until they're right on them," said Anna city administrator Lee Lawrence.
But bike enthusiasts say they should be the ones who decide where to ride and whether it's safe. Collin County cyclists once frequently traveled the road. If safety is indeed the issue, let cyclists make the decision themselves, said Robin Stallings, executive director of the Texas Bike Coalition. "We live in Texas. It's pretty independent. Texans get to decide for themselves about their safety," Mr. Stallings said. "We believe they are more concerned about motorists' inconvenience. Sometimes, you gotta slow down for grandpa, and sometimes you have to slow down for a bicyclist."
The Anna City Council passed the ordinance, 5-0, in July 2003, but cyclists said they only recently realized cycling was banned on the road. Mr. Lawrence said signs announcing the ban popped up along the road months after the council ruled. No one can ride a bicycle along FM455 between State Highway 5 and the East Fork of the Trinity River. Violating the ban is a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine. Mr. Lawrence said he knows of no citations issued.
Rusty Nail of Melissa, who compiles the Plano Bicycle Association newsletter and runs the group's Web site, said the ban is useless because the city does not enforce it. He also serves on Melissa's parks and recreation board. "It's a major road from Weston to Anna. We probably put the blinders on so much trying to protect ourselves that we give over our freedom to the government," said Mr. Nail. "When do we say enough is enough?"
Cyclists suggest lowering the speed limit or putting up "share the road" signs instead of promoting a cycling prohibition. Mr. Lawrence said lowering the speed limit isn't feasible. The ban was created after two nearby fatalities on similar roads, he said.
Discussions are under way to widen the road between U.S. Highway 75 and Highway 5. But that won't solve the problem. "That road was built for a 55 mph speed. What is being asked with that request is that we inconvenience the vast majority of the users to accommodate a very small amount of the users," Mr. Lawrence said. "I don't think that's a fair request."
A 1989 Texas Attorney General's opinion addresses the issue of cities prohibiting cycling on specific roads. It states that a city can ban cycling on controlled or limited-access highways, roads or streets, including freeways. But the opinion also allows bans on other streets if safety is the reason. Rebecca Blewett, an attorney with the Texas Department of Transportation, said the ruling allows cities to ban cycling on certain streets. "They have that authority," she said. But Mr. Stallings said there are other ways to protect cyclists. He said cycling organizations are talking with the city of Anna as well as with attorneys about their options. The bike ban has been added to the council's June 13 agenda.
2/24/09 - From: Jessica Wilson. I just got back from the Rural Roads Subcommittee and thought I'd send out a quick update. Neither the River Road or Share the Road plates legislation was heard. I thought I would note, however, that Channel 4 News showed up for the meeting and when told that the River Road Bill was taken off notice, they left.
2/19/09 - A bill to ban bicycles on River Road in Davidson County (House Bill 0342 and Senate Bill 0276) is proceeding through the Tennessee Legislature. River Road is a typical state rural highway with light to moderate traffic and no paved shoulder. There have been no bicycle-car crashes on this road in the last 5 years. If a ban is successful, many such roads across the state would be likely candidates for a ban as well. All bicyclists are urged to contact their representatives and members of the House Rural Roads Subcommittee.
Bicyclists are also encouraged to attend the subcommittee meeting
FM 455; Mckinney Courier-Gazette June 15, 2006
The Melissa City Council reenacted an ordinance that prohibits bicycles along a portion of FM 455 at their monthly meeting Tuesday despite the public protests of cyclists from all over the county and the Texas Bicycle Commission. (read more. . .)
Residents Want Cyclists off River Road, Tennessean March 15, 2009.
April 15, 2009: Resolution
A significant editorial was included by Rep Gary Moore, who initiated the bill to ban cyclists from River Road. His editorial can be found at http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090415/OPINION01/904150387/1007/OPINION
He ends his work with the following statement:
Let me reiterate: The Whites Bend Neighborhood Association and I support the right for cyclists to enjoy and use the many beauties and exercise benefits that our Tennessee roadways have to offer. Although we respect their rights, we also have a genuine concern for the safety of all involved. We are extremely pleased that a solution could be reached that would address the concerns of all parties involved, Rep Gary Moore.
He is commenting on a constructive meeting he had with Mayor Dean’s office and Nashville BPAC. Our thanks go to everyone for working out a solution amenable to all parties.
TRIAL RESOLUTION Click here for details
4/15/09
