Senate Bill 736 (the Dooring bill) was reported out of the House Trans SubComm2 this morning by a 4-2 vote, after a motion to Table by Del. Garrett of Lynchburg, seconded by the Chair Del. Cox of Hanover failed by the same vote.

The bill now goes on to the full House Transportation Committee, where it will be heard next Tuesday, 1/2 hour after adjournment, which is usually about 2:15 – 2:30.

Thanks to all who weighed in by contacting committee members, and all will be asked to weigh in over the weekend, as we are getting close to getting this bill passed.

Senate Bill 1060/Reeves (3 foot passing and don’t follow too closely) has now been assigned to House Trans SubComm2, where it will be heard next Wednesday, 2/13 at 7:00 a.m.

Sen. Tommy Norment (R-Williamsburg) speaks at the distracted driving press conference.

At 10 a.m., Champe Burnley and I represented the Cycling community at a Press Conference announcing the passage of the bills making texting while driving a primary offense, a big step forward in the campaign against Distracted Driving which has now gathered support from key members of both parties.

Innovative Program to Help Local Businesses Maximize the Benefits of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships

(February 1, 2013 -­- Richmond, Virginia) -­- Richmond 2015, Inc., the organizing committee for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, today announced the launch of Société 2015, an innovative engagement program that will provide businesses with the tools and programs necessary to maximize the benefits of this great global event, while showing their support for the community.

Société 2015 membership is free and open to any local business. It provides them with a platform and a toolkit to fully leverage the building excitement and momentum behind the 2015 Road World Championships, an event that will attract hundreds of thousands of spectators to the region.

“The world is coming to our region in September of 2015 and Société 2015 was created to provide local businesses with a direct connection to this global sporting event,” said Wilson Flohr, CEO of Richmond 2015. “We want local businesses to gain maximum benefit from what will be the largest influx of potential customers in the history of the region.”

Interested businesses must simply complete a quick online registration process. Upon completion, the business will gain access to an online marketing toolkit and will receive an exclusive Société 2015 decal used to identify the business as a proud member and supporter. Additional program benefits, including workshops, seminars and networking events will be incorporated in the coming year.

Once a business is a member, they can use the brand throughout their marketing and community efforts, including creating fun bicycle and World Championship themed promotions.

Société 2015 is being launched in partnership with Retail Merchants Association and The Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. [continue reading…]

While we’re working on a full-blown blog post for Bicycle Action Day, I want to take a moment and give a very special thanks to everyone that helped or was a part of Bicycle Action Day. As many of you know, this was our (RideRichmond’s) first attempt at organizing such an event, and my first time visiting the GA.

Special thanks to Champe and Tom, who spoke at the Press Conference. To Sheryl for attending action day and Bud for being at the House Transportation Committee hearing tonight. Thanks to Matt, Allen, and Mark as well for providing insight and positions to take with the legislators.

Senators Reeves and Petersen, as well as Delegate Lopez all attended the press conference. [continue reading…]

Allows local governing bodies to adopt ordinances requiring users of shared-use paths to stop before crossing highways at marked crosswalks.

This bill, which is the House version of Favola’s Senate bill, was reported out of House Transportation unanimously.

I did get a chance to speak and make a few suggestions, but I had to butt in to do so, and was told to be brief, as the 1/2 hour after Adjournment meeting started at 4:10 and Chairman May was trying hard to move things along with a big docket still ahead and was not in the mood to hear much discussion of bills that had been passed by the Sub committees. Michael Gilbert and Brantley Tyndall arrived just in time to hear the bill get handled.

The bill has been amended, from that you will see on the website, and though I haven’t seen a copy of the amended version yet, I believe it now applies to all jurisdictions in the state, and to all highways crossing shared use paths regardless of their speed limits.  (It was originally meant for the W&OD.)

I did get a chance to discuss with the State Police Rep, the DMV rep, the VDOT rep, and the Loudoun county lobbyist (who is an attorney), and all agree with me that STOP, & COMPLETE STOP mean the same thing, which is to CEASE MOVING.

Further there is no requirement in that definition that a cyclist remove a foot from a pedal, or put a foot on the ground, since you can still be moving with a foot off the pedal, or a foot on the ground. The requirement is to CEASE MOVING, and there is no requirement for how long that cessation has to be, so it can be momentary.

The Loudoun county lobbyist, Jeffrey Gore, was not aware that any tickets had been issued for running stop signs on the W&OD in Loudoun since it was not yet legal to do so, and promised that he would convey the above definition of STOP to the county Sheriff, and ask him to convey it to his officers.

Also, in his presentation of the bill to the committee, Greason cited a large number of injuries in the last few years, as well as some fatalities, at trail crossings which was the primary reason for this bill.