League of American Bicyclists

We have been following the Reed Bates’ case since pretty much the day the saga began. At the very outset, I called a couple of the people closely involved with Mr. Bates and offered the League’s help; it did appear that the charges were inappropriate, that Bates had a legal right to ride where he was riding, and that the jury that Bates chose to be heard by was incorrectly instructed by the first judge involved. On that basis, we would have been happy to help defend his right to ride on the road.

Our offer to assist was not accepted; instead, he and his advisers chose to assert that not only was Bates legally allowed to ride where he was riding, but that’s where he and everyone else should be riding, even in the presence of a perfectly rideable shoulder. That approach took the issue beyond a strict legal argument as to where one is legally allowed to ride to where one should ride, and a rural Texas courtroom may not be the best place to have that call made on our behalf.  As the situation has developed, Bates (and the people advising him) has unfortunately chosen to follow a strategy that our board and legal advisers did not think was in the best interests of all cyclists – from the initial trial by jury preference to a failure to show up for court dates and hearings to the pursuit of a position that is simply not reasonable and could easily backfire.

We have remained in touch with the issue with local Dallas-area advocates,  Bike Texas and our board of directors. It is instructive that none of us have chosen to get involved. I think we all regret that the way the case has been played by Bates and his advisers has precluded us from constructively intervening to help him and defend our collective rights to the road.

Andy Clarke
President, League of American Bicyclists

As we mentioned last week, state transportation agencies are faced with another round of rescissions and will be cutting unspent funds from various programs. Unlike previous rescissions, these cuts do not have to follow a proportionality clause, meaning an increased threat for programs that typically fund bicycling projects.

You can help prevent this by taking action! Visit our Advocacy Center and tell your Governor to require that these cuts be made proportionately across eligible programs. States must report which program funds are affected by August 25th — so action is needed this week!

For more information on how rescissions work, visit our Advocacy Advance report Rescissions and Restoration: Fighting for Priority. For more information on your state’s rescission amount see this chart.

~Jeff Peel
State & Local Advocacy Coordinator

Los Angeles, the second largest and debatably most auto-centric city in the United States, is reaching out towards cyclists and making an effort to transform the city to make room for bikes.  To reaffirm this point, L.A. hosted a bicycle safety summit this morning, August 16. This step towards bicycle-friendliness comes after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was hit by a car while on his bike. The accident crash resulted in a shattered elbow and a new push to increase safety for bicyclists.

The Mayor made a formal announcement on You Tube that included his personal crash, the need for improvement in L.A.’s bicycle infrastructure, and his intention to focus on this subject — starting with this morning’s bike safety summit. He also wrote that, “Eventually we plan to build a network of 1,663 miles of bikeways. I encourage everyone to take a look at the plan and give input.” Villaraigosa envisions Los Angeles’ climate and landscape as an ideal place for cyclists. The Mayor hopes that today’s discussion and upcoming bicycle plan updates will maximize what the city has going for it.

~Carly Sieff
League Bicycle Friendly America Program Assistant

Technology is amazing and typically makes everything easier – information sharing, photo sharing, video sharing, and now bike sharing! Bike sharing by iphone joins the extensive list of bike-sharing systems already in place. Just in the past couple of years we have seen a boom in cities adopting bike share systems as an additional public transportation option – some of the more popular are Paris; Montreal; Washington, D.C.; Denver; Minneapolis; Chicago; and the list keeps growing. Cities are not the only ones on top of this boom, businesses are implementing systems, and even colleges and universities are getting in the game.   Some systems allow people passing by to swipe their credit card and  ride off, while others require a little planning ahead but can be just as convenient.  Coming this fall to the Big Apple is bike sharing by iphone called Sobi.  Soon a user will be able to locate an available bike with the simple touch of a phone. I once thought bike riding was as simple as it could get, but with these innovations in bike share systems I am starting to believe it can be even simpler.

~Alison Dewey
League Bicycle Friendly America Program Specialist