VBF 2010 Legislative Agenda

admin January 20, 2010 @vabike

The 2010 Virginia General Assembly is in session, and the bills that VBF is supporting this year are coming up soon in committee. Please contact your legislators, and ask them to support the following bills. Find your legislators through the General Assembly’s Who’s My Legislator page.

Bill numbers below are hotlinked to their pages at Richmond Sunlight, where you can read a summary of each bill along with the full text, and track each bill’s progress through committee. You can also look them up at the Virginia General Assembly’s Legislative Information System.

SB 566 & HB 1048: following bicycles too closely, minimum three foot bicycle passing distance.

SB 546: amends landowner liability law to explicitly protect railroads from recreational access liability — important for pedestrian access across rail lines, as well as rails-with-trails.

HB 459: stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. (Failed in House Transportation Sub-Committee on 1/20.)

SB 228: stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. (Reported to Full Senate on 1/21.)

HB 752: allows bicycles and motorcycles to proceed on red when traffic lights fail to respond to sensors.

HB 222: design Standards for Secondary Highway Design Components — VBF recommends amending this to include bicycle accommodations.

HB 22: forbids use of personal communications devices (cell phones) while driving. (Failed in House Militia, Police & Public Safety Sub-Committee on 1/21.)

HJR 119: establishes a joint subcommittee to study the creation of a US Route 1 Corridor and report.

HB 810: OPPOSE — vehicle length increase from 57′ to 75′, and exceptions for saddle-type hitches and farm-to-farm vehicles, essentially allows double trailers.

It’s especially important to get support from committee members when these bills are in committee. We’ll post specific information about this as things develop. Check back here for updates, and follow our Twitter feed.

Update from Allen: VBF is currently seeking co-patrons for SB 566 and HB 1048. Please ask your delegate and senator NOW to co-patron these bills.

Jake Helmboldt’s Bicycling Friendly Award

admin January 20, 2010 @vabike

Jake Helmboldt receives VBF's Bicycling Friendly Award. L to R: Champe Burnley, Jake Helmboldt, Sheryl Finucane & Bud Vye

No one is more deserving of VBF’s Bicycling Friendly Award than VDOT’s (now former) statewide bike and pedestrian coordinator. Jake Helmboldt has been a great ally and resource for us, and for cyclists throughout Virginia. We wish him well in his new position at the planning firm of Vanesse Hangen Brustlin.

2010 VCN Lobby Day & VBF Legislative Meeting

admin January 13, 2010 @vabike

Join the Virginia Bicycling Federation on Monday, Jan. 18, at the Virginia Conservation Network’s Lobby Day, 9am-2pm at the Virginia State Capitol. Meet your legislators and tell them what you expect from them, as they head into this year’s General Assembly. This is one of the best opportunities for bike advocates to make headway with statewide issues.

We’ll be having a legislative meeting on Sunday, Jan 17, to prepare for Lobby Day. All bike advocates and trail advocates are welcome, and encouraged to join us at 3pm at Maria’s Italian Restaurant, 9570 Woodman Road, Richmond, VA 23228-1324.

RSVP to Champe Burnley (804-358-5801, champe_burnley@hotmail.com).

Be sure to check our Calendar page regularly for advocacy happenings such as this. Not all of them make it into our blog.

MUTCD For Bicycles

admin January 13, 2010 @vabike

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

A new version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices has been released, with a lot of new bike-specific signage and road markings — especially sharrows. Thanks to Elijah Sharp from the New River Valley Planning District Commission, we have the MUTCD bicycle section (PDF) available for download.

RTC Releases California Rails With Trails Report

TheWalkman January 8, 2010

Rails with trails: San Francisco Bay Trail (photo: Rails to Trails Conservancy)

The Rails to Trails Conservancy has just released a new report, titled, “California Rails-with-Trails: A Survey of Trails Along Active Rail Lines.” This report was designed to update data collected for the RTC’s 2000 rail with trail report.

Some conclusions from the 2009 California survey:

Safety: there were no incidents between a trail user and a train. In fact, using a rail-with-trail may well be significantly safer than walking or cycling next to a busy main road and it may serve to keep people from walking on active rail tracks.
Growth: California now has 21 RWT projects, up from 7 in the 2000 study.
Dual benefit: constructing a trail along an active railroad doubles the value a community derives from the rail corridor and provides citizens with an extra transportation choice.
Liability: the survey revealed the vast majority of rails-with-trails are insured by existing city or transit district insurance coverage in a similar manner to other trails.

Despite opponents’ rhetoric against rails with trails, this study seems to reinforce what many already know: rails with trails make safe and practical bike and pedestrian trails, and communities across the United States should include rails with trails as part of their comprehensive transportation infrastructure.

Previous Posts Next Posts