London Ontario Bike Bylaw Restructure Proposal

By Ian Gifford – 08/20/2012 edited 09/11/2012

Note: This is something I came up with in August. Now that the discussions in council (regarding 14 year olds and younger on side walks) have surfaced I wanted to see what other Londoners think of some of these ideas. Can we make any of them work and can we do it to make our roads safer now? Feel free to comment but constructively please. Negative comments do nothing to advance the solutions required to make cyclists feel safer in our city right now. We need "solutions to the problems, not problems to the solutions" - Gil Penalosa

Gil Penalosa gives a great talk on car vs pedestrian vs cycle traffic in the world's cities HERE in this video

New York City made cycling infrastructure changes happen virtually overnight. See what they have done in this video here

The Florida Bicycle association made this education site here as provided by a commenter below. 

Overview: The following is a list of suggestions for changes in Bicycling related traffic bylaws for London Ontario while future changes in road infrastructure pertaining to cyclists are yet to be realized. The hope is that with minor changes to the way cyclists use the roads and pathways within the city, that public and police perception of cyclists will alter and a balance between all three of drivers, pedestrians and Cyclists can be met.

Reasoning: Cyclists face a wide variety of obstacles in London, Ontario every day from unkempt streets, to littered pathways/shoulders (glass, dirt, trash etc.) and aggressive drivers, many which suffer from a disdain and disrespect for cyclists. Driver perceptions of the average cyclist can cause many to be aggressive towards the cyclist ultimately advancing “road rage” between the two parties and on some occasions resulting in accidents with the cyclists largely becoming the injured party.

In London’s current state, there are many multi use pathways that prove to be very good for recreational use and in some instances good for daily commutes to various parts of the city. However, arterial streets in London (ie: Highbury, Adelaide, Oxford, Dundas, Wharncliffe, Commissioners) are largely without painted bike lanes or Boulevard style lanes up and away from the flow of traffic. Bikers like me often feel unsafe and thereby take to the sidewalk while that can lead to fines from Police and/or aggression from drivers and pedestrians.

The hope of amending/altering some city bylaws and how they pertain to cyclists is to change the public perception and to allow within the legal system for riders to take to the sidewalks in a safe manner, without worry of repercussions. There would be obvious need for exceptions to these amendments and will be listed accordingly. Such exceptions would include where a bike lane on the road exists and/or sharrows are painted into the streets and signs indicating all to “share the road” or that “this is a designated bike route” exist.

The biggest need in cycling culture change is the acceptance of cyclists as co-owners of the roads and pathways. Alternately there are cyclists that are in need of changing their own methods of using the streets and pathways. It’s a situation where respect will likely need to be given in order to be gained back
.

Another thing that needs to be acknowledged on the path to equalisation on the roads is that current road laws are not ultimately created with the cyclist in mind and are largely outdated and not inclusive to the cyclist. With minor change in many of these laws we can have equalisation for all users of roads and pathways and make our traffic system safe and enjoyable for all.

Bylaws: Current London, Ontario bylaws restrict cyclists from riding on sidewalks anywhere within the city. Cyclists often will ride these sidewalks at the risk of being stopped by police and fined. These laws are restrictive to cyclists who want to or need to ride on major arteries where the lane size and volume of traffic makes it unsafe to navigate freely for the slower moving cyclist.

Proposed amendment 1: Eliminate bylaw altogether (with restrictions for cyclist use) and change nomenclature from “sidewalk” to “roadside pathways”. The idea of changing nomenclature is to change public perception of how these walks may be used. The idea of eliminating fines for sidewalk use with exceptions will allow for the safe passage throughout the city without threat of being overtaken by high volume traffic.

Restrictions:

·        Cyclists using the sidewalk must pro-actively and voluntarily demonstrate knowledge of bicycle safety. Helmets, bells, lights, reflectors and well kept braking systems should be present at all times. The exceptions would be subject to evaluation by bylaw enforcement and/or Police officers.

·         Children under the age of ___ are exempt at all times from sidewalk/roadside pathway bylaws. Children must always be wearing CSA approved helmets as per current laws.

·        Streets where there are lines/sharrows/lanes for cyclists must always be used instead of sidewalks by cyclists above the age of ___. Any cyclists found in breach of this will be subject to current fines under the established bylaws.

·         Downtown core sidewalks are exempt except where major bike parking areas exist (ie Citi Plaza on Wellington Rd, between King and York streets) where bikes should be cruising at no more than 10km/hr for 30 feet on either side of the bike park.

Proposed Amendment 2: the “CSEP” or the “Cyclist Special Exceptions Permit”. This would be a voluntary permit with an annual fee. Once a year London cyclists would be encouraged to go to an authorized city bicycle dealer/repair shop for the purpose of a bike inspection and “License” issuing.

The License can be had in one of two forms depending on cost or preference by bylaw enforcers. The first form could be a bike mounted numbered license while the second could be a photo identification card. This license/card would be null and void if certain requirements are not met at the time of use.

Requirements:

·        Cyclists must demonstrate knowledge of the rules of the road and basic bicycle use.

·        Cyclists must have a bicycle equipped with standard safety equipment including well maintained brake systems, reflectors, lights (exemptions during daylight hours), and potentially helmets.

·        Cyclists will only be required to have this card/license past the age of ___

      Allowances:

·        The CSEP allows for cyclists to ride on designated sidewalks at all times (amendments to this can be for peak traffic flows only on certain roads) without fear of repercussion/fines by bylaw/traffic enforcement agents. In the instance that a cyclist is stopped by said enforcement officers the card/license may be presented and the officer at their discretion can exempt the rider from fines providing safety measures are being practiced and displayed by the cyclist.

·       

           The CSEP is voluntary and invalid in cases where the card or license is not with the cyclist during their ride thereby subjecting the cyclists to all fines/repercussions under current bylaws.

·        The CSEP is dependant on reasonable use of these pathways by ALL cyclists. If cyclists are found in neglect of basic and standard safe cycling practises, all benefits of the CSEP are voided.

·         The CSEP may entitle the holder to special discounts from participating bike shops/repair shops at the discretion of said shops. A page on the city of London website could direct cyclists that hold the CSEP to the shops that participate in the CSEP program.

·       

           The CSEP will allow users to attend city run cycling events (assuming any are made in the future) like bike rodeos, cyclist town hall style meetings and membership in online CSEP forums.

Exceptions:

·         The CSEP is not a “Get out of jail free” card. It does not abide by reckless and dangerous cycling. Any user Found in violation of standard laws pertaining to cyclists may be subject to a revocation of the CSEP by London enforcement officers and be refused future CSE Permits at the discretion of the CSEP administrators.

·         The CSEP is subject to specially mapped areas of London at all times. The main purpose of the CSEP is to allow for safe passage on sidewalks/roadside pathways of mainly Arterial routes until such time as cycling infrastructure is introduced whereby exemptions will change and the exemptions map will reflect the new lanes (or other types of cycling infrastructure).

Fees: The CSEP, while being voluntary, will come with an administrative fee that can (at the city managers discretions) be used towards cycling infrastructure and maintenance with potential for city run cycling awareness programs and bike rodeos etc. These fees would be determined based on projections of use, infrastructure and maintenance costs and overall program participation.