Va. Ever have a law requiring ppl over 13 to ride in the street?

[bentbike33]

@Henry 150166 wrote:

Got this Q from an Arlington resident this week. They asked me when did this law change. I said I wasn’t aware such a law ever existed. They were adamant that back in the day, in Arlington, the LAW was you could ride on the sidewalk until you were 13, but then you had to get on the road.

Any of you legal road scholars know if this is true? Or perhaps it’s just a suburban legend.

Henry

When was the Custis segment on the sidewalk along Lee Highway designated, i.e., when did ArlCo decide to break this law itself if it ever existed?

[TwoWheelsDC]

Sounds a bit urban legend-y, although helmets are required for riders 14 and under per § 14.2-64, which at least adds an air of plausibility to such a law.

Current code is § 14.2-65(e): Riding on sidewalk. Persons of any age may ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk, except for those sidewalks, designated by the County Manager on which bicycle riding is prohibited. Signs indicating such prohibition shall be conspicuously posted in general areas where bicycle riding is prohibited.

[lordofthemark]

@Henry 150166 wrote:

Got this Q from an Arlington resident this week. They asked me when did this law change. I said I wasn’t aware such a law ever existed. They were adamant that back in the day, in Arlington, the LAW was you could ride on the sidewalk until you were 13, but then you had to get on the road.

Any of you legal road scholars know if this is true? Or perhaps it’s just a suburban legend.

Henry

Perhaps they are getting confused with Alexandria? As TwoWheels posted, Va Code allows localities (counties or independent Cities) to ban sidewalk biking on any particular street, and IIUC, until just a few years ago, sidewalk riding was banned throughout the City of Alexandria. That was then changed to a ban only on certain blocks of King and Union in Old Town.

Edit- Yup, it was in 2013

http://www.vabike.org/alexandria-relaxes-sidewalk-cycling-ordinance/

[rcannon100]

People have strenuous opinions on what the law says or said, removed from what the law in fact says or said.

Conflation confounds this. Perhaps they were once in one jurisdiction where such a rule had truth – and they confuse the notion that the rule has truth in their current jurisdiction.

Based on ’29 years of fuzzy memory in the ‘hood, and all years in Greater Greater, the only place where I have ever known that to be true (and received a ticket for it) is downtown DC.

[dkel]

I don’t know about Arlington, but Falls Church City says this:

Sec. 26-110. – Riding or driving on sidewalks.
The city manager, upon the request of any owner of any property adjacent to any public sidewalk, may prohibit or restrict the use of such sidewalks by persons riding bicycles; provided such restrictions are posted; and further provided, that children who have not attained their 13th birthday are not prohibited in the first instance from riding bicycles and similar leg-propelled children’s devices upon sidewalks. This exception is subject, however, to the right of residents to file complaints of disturbance and to request that the exception herein be modified or set aside in proper cases as found by the court to constitute abuse by such children of pedestrian or neighborhood rights to peace and the use of sidewalks.

(Code 1982, § 20-58; Ord. No. 858)

To the original question, this (again, only as an example, and not for Arlington) does not require one to ride in the street unless posted, and then exception is made for those 13 years and under. But if people complain about kids riding on the sidewalk, all bets are off. All of which is to say, the whole thing borders on meaningless, which I imagine is probably true even outside of Falls Church City.

[scoot]

@TwoWheelsDC 150168 wrote:

Current code is § 14.2-65(e): Riding on sidewalk. Persons of any age may ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk, except for those sidewalks, designated by the County Manager on which bicycle riding is prohibited. Signs indicating such prohibition shall be conspicuously posted in general areas where bicycle riding is prohibited.

While there do exist plenty of Arlington sidewalks crowded enough to discourage bicycle riding, the County Manager has never deemed it necessary to designate legal prohibitions anywhere AFAIK.

[Author]

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