Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Siskiyou Velo

Southern Oregon's Premier Cycling Club

Bikes (and the people who drive them) as Traffic

by Gary Shaff on Mar, 5 2015

The I Am Traffic website is dense with insights and commentary on what needs to change to legitimize and normalize cycling as a mode of travel. The American Bicycling Education Association’s, ABEA, vision goes beyond “sharing” the road to a future where bicyclist are seen as first class road users with the same responsibilities and duties as other road users. Their interactive graphics illustrate the proper lane position as well as the space requirements for cyclists (note the illustration doesn’t reflect the requirements in Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 811.065 – Unsafe Passing of a Person Operating a Bicycle). You’ll be surprised to learn that Oregon, based upon the standards used by the ABEA, is a red state when it comes to how well State laws promote bicycle mode equality. The ABEA’s approach isn’t about bashing motorists but instead identifies a multitude of changes (education, engineering, enforcement, etc) that must be addressed to create a transportation system that is mode neutral. Check it out!

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