Please note: “stop for pedestrians in crosswalks” has returned for 2009 as HB 2386, which has an excellent chance of passing. As of Jan. 27 it has cleared committee and is headed for the House floor. Contact your House Delegate now to ask for their support.
SB644 FAILED to be Reported Out of House Transportation Subcommittee 2 this morning by a 3-3 vote.As has increasingly been the case as this legislative session wears on, this vote was right along party lines, with the 3 D’s (Marsden from Fairfax, Nichols from Woodbridge, and Ward from Hampton) voting to report the bill, and the 3 R’s (Carrico, Fralin from Roanoke, and Loupassi from Richmond/Chesterfield) voting against it.
Unfortunately, Del. Rust of Herndon, who had been there earlier for a bill that affected tow truck operators, and who had previously voted for Del. Ebbin’s identical HB1270, when it had come through this sub-committee, left prior to this vote.
As he has done now on every occasion this type of bill has come before him, Del. Fralin led the opposition, again stating that the bill was unnecessary, and, absurdly, that all drivers know that Yield means Stop.
Del. Loupassi, as previously reported, though sympathetic to the Pedestrians cause since he is a runner and cyclist, thinks passage of the bill would make the situation worse rather than better, since it would give the Pedestrian a false sense of security.
Del. Carrico, the retired State Policeman, has always been opposed to these bills, though not as loudly as Fralin and Loupassi.
It would be nice for any constituents to thank Sen. Ticer for carrying the bill, and Delegates Marsden, Nichols, and Ward for voting for it, to express disappointment that Del. Rust was not there to vote, and disappointment to Fralin, Carrico and Loupassi for their opposition.
Fralin’s constituents might also want to tell him that, contrary to his belief — Most motorists do NOT think that Yield is the same as Stop, and that Stop is almost universally accepted as a higher level command for action than is Yield.
In any case, that’s it for this session.
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Bud,
Thanks for all the work you’ve done this legislative session. I’ve been a regular reader of your reports on the VBF site and they have been very helpful. What a disappointment that the crosswalk bills were killed after getting so far this year. I hope supporters will return next year to try again. We will certainly encourage Fairfax County to include it in their legislative 2009 package.
Bruce Wright
Chairman, Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling