A Mandatory Side-Path Law?

Recently, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) released their version of the new federal transportation bill, entitled MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century). The "mighty four" from the EPW worked across partisan lines to draft the bill -- which consolidates thirteen highway programs into five core categories (read Transportation for America's summary to get a clear picture).

America Bikes members are extremely concerned over what the bill means for funding effective and community-supported bicycle and pedestrian projects. Large-ticket road projects are eligible within the funding program, Safe Routes to School is no longer recognized, and transportation departments can "opt out" (an America Bikes statement explains the issues--PDF).

Before the release of the draft bill, the cycling community was gearing up for bad news. Over and over during the extension of the current Federal Transportation Bill, bicycle and pedestrian funding had been threatened -- and saved.

But buried in this bill was another, deeply concerning piece of language. It's in section � 203 (d) (p. 226), the part dealing with the ?Federal lands transportation program," and it states:

(d) BICYCLE SAFETY.?The Secretary of the appropriate Federal land management agency shall prohibit the use of bicycles on each federally owned road that has a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or greater and an adjacent paved path for use by bicycles within 100 yards of the road.

This paragraph would introduce a mandatory side-path law on roads in our National Parks and other Federal lands. Yes -- believe it. The clause would effectively remove cyclists' rights to be on the road on federal lands if there is a trail or path nearby. It also effectively removes the federal land manager's ability to make that decision at a local level.

As Richard Moeur, chair of the Task Force on U.S. Bicycle Routes and traffic engineer with the Arizona Department of Transportation wrote on the League of American Cyclists blog, "Every year, the Arizona Bicycle Club has a ride in Grand Canyon National Park. The effect of this regulation would be to force all club riders to use narrow pathways already full of thousands of tourists looking at everything except their fellow trail users -- an invitation to disaster. It would be very likely that National Park Service would refuse to issue a permit for the ride, citing ?safety? -- and another club tradition (and fundraiser) would disappear forever. This same situation could easily happen on many other Federal lands, and would make the routing of nation-spanning U.S. Bicycle Routes very difficult when encountering Federal parkland."

As a member of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks peer group, I am finding that public land managers are making strides in accommodating cyclists and pedestrians and providing alternative transportation options that help reduce motorized congestion. They work on local solutions based upon any number of important reasons (urban or rural, environmental factors, landscape situations, impact, etc.) This clause may have terrible, unintended effects.

Will federal land managers be forced to develop side-paths along roadways? Will cyclists be forced to ride on paths that don't accommodate them safely or effectively? Will, as Mr. Moeur so aptly pointed out, federal land managers have to choose between accommodating motorized and non-motorized visitors -- effectively prioritizing one over the other?

This is just plain bad for everyone. If you haven't already, please sign the petition drafted by the League of American Bicyclists. Let's get this clause removed before it goes any farther.

Photo by Chuck Haney.

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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/11/mandatory-side-path-law.html

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