by Bud Vye
HB1270 — motorists to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks — was narrowly reported out of the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday by an 11-8 vote. A close look at the vote shows that all of the 8 opposing votes were by Republicans, and that three Republicans were not present.
All of the Democrats voted for the bill, and were joined by Committee Chair Joe May of Loudon and Edward Scott of Culpeper, both of whom are Republicans.
Bottom line, this vote may be very close on the House floor, which will be any day now, and persons who have voted one way in Committee have been known to change their vote when it gets to the floor.
PLEASE, everyone call their Delegate’s office ASAP and leave a message urging them to “support HB1270/Motorists to STOP for Pedestrians in Crosswalks” on the House floor.
If we can get a few Republican votes, we will clear this hurdle, and the bill will go all the way, since the companion bill SB644 is close to passage on the Senate floor.
Contact your delegates. Help spread the word. Forward this to your bike club and community mailing lists. Contact your town/city/county officials to alert them, and ask for their support. Use the “share this” link below to email this article, and bookmark it in social media. Blog this, or simply republish it.
This is a close vote — all it needs is a little push. So this time especially, your effort can make a difference.
We are deeply saddened to hear that Sheldon Brown has passed away. The Harris Cyclery website confirms the sad news.
Sheldon probably got more people excited about bicycling than anyone in the last 15 years. Thank you Sheldon, for your passion, wisdom, humor, and kindness.
Delegate Ebbin’s bill (which is identical to Sen. Ticer’s bill on the Senate side) was reported out of House Transportation SubCommittee 2 to the full House Transportation Committee this morning by a 5 – 2 vote. Del. Fralin of Roanoke led the opposition as he has done to similar bills over the past several years, but when it came to a vote only Chairman Carrico joined him in voting against the bill. Del. Ebbin was well prepared and did a nice job of defending the bill, as its patron.Coupled with the reporting of Senator Ticer’s SB644 to the full Senate last Thursday, we now have two bills still alive, which is far beyond any progress made in previous years, so we are gaining some traction on this. [continue reading…]
SB644 (motorists to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks), was reported out of the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday afternoon by a 9 – 6 vote. (The first time such a bill has ever gotten out of committee in at least 6 years.)The bad news is that all of the Republicans on the Committee voted against the bill, except for Senator John Watkins (Chesterfield, a portion of Richmond, and a very small portion of Henrico). Any constituents of Sen. Watkins should call his office 804 698 7510 and express their pleasure at his Yes vote. Constituents of any of the Democrat Senators (both Millers, Houck, Marsh, Puckett, Deeds, Ticer, and Petersen) should also call their office and commend them.
This augurs well [continue reading…]
Don’t miss one of Virginia’s biggest (over 600 riders) and most enjoyable bike events! A fundraiser for the Virginia Capital Trail, the Capital to Capital ride follows the Route 5 corridor alongside the trail, with some backroad loops thrown in. Unique, dual starts from both Richmond and Jamestown bring riders together for a homestyle barbecue lunch at the midpoint in Charles City. Century and half-century options are available. Terrain is gently rolling. See the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation website for more information.
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