Virginia Legislation Action Thread

[Mark Blacknell]

Hi, all. I thought it would be helpful to start a new thread that summarizes the state of play for the various bits of legislation working its way through the General Assembly in Richmond. I’ll lead off with WABA’s Action Alert for today’s items, and then follow up with a post about other pending items.

Today:

Please Act Now to Support SB 1060 and Oppose SB 731 in the Virginia Senate

The Virginia Senate Transportation Committee will consider two bicycle-related bills on Wednesday afternoon (1/23/13). We need you to respectfully ask the Senate Transportation Committee members to:

1) Support SB 1060, Reeves, which would prohibit motorists from rear-ending or side-swiping bicyclists (i.e., following bicyclists too closely or passing bicyclists with less than a 3-foot gap).

2) Oppose SB 731, Carrico, which would prohibit riding mopeds on highways with speed limits above 35 MPH. If moped riding is banned, bicycling may be next!
You can identify and contact your state legislators from the Who’s My Legislator page.
If your Senator is listed below, call or email them directly – constituent calls really matter. Otherwise, you may call or email all three committee members from NoVA or bulk email the entire 14-member committee by simply copying the email addresses on this page and pasting them into your email’s To: field.

Senate Transportation Committee Members from NoVA

* Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31st District), [URL=”tel:804-698-7531″]804-698-7531[/URL], <district31@senate.virginia.gov>
* Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37th District), [URL=”tel:804-698-7537″]804-698-7537[/URL], <district37@senate.virginia.gov>
* Sen. Chuck Colgan (D-29th District), [URL=”tel:804-698-7529″]804-698-7529[/URL], <district29@senate.virginia.gov>

Thank you for acting on very short notice to improve bicycling in Virginia. Unfortunately, bills move swiftly at the Virginia General Assembly, and we only learned yesterday afternoon that these bill would be heard today. If the Senate Transportation Committee reports these bill today, they will be considered by the full Senate in just a few days. Please check our blog for regular updates – we’ll try not too email you too frequently.

Due to the response to our recent action alerts, the Virginia Senate has already passed SB 736 (prohibits dooring), whereas the House Transportation Committee has passed HB 1950 (prohibits rear-ending bicyclists) with a 20-1 vote.

I cannot emphasize enough now much of a difference actual constituent contact makes on these matters. We turned some votes last year with them, and have again this year. We need that to keep happening. Please feel free to cut, paste, and forward to your friends and relatives who don’t read the forum.

Finally, the General Assembly makes it difficult to get notice of what’s on the docket in a timely manner, unfortunately, so if communications/action alerts seem a bit rushed and disjointed, well . . . there are many things I’d like to fix about Richmond. But let’s start with getting better bike legislation out of them.

Topic

[eminva]

Just an FYI re: Gallows @ W&OD:

I have served as a bicycle counter at that intersection on several occasions, which means I’ve sat there for two hour shifts watching cycle after cycle. Being a daily W&OD commuter, I was curious about just how long that light is, so I timed it. Here is what I observed. The light is green for Gallows/red for the W&OD for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Then it reverses for about 15 seconds. Repeat ad infinitum.

Time of day, day of week, didn’t matter. There is a call button that a trail user can activate, but it makes no difference — the cycle was exactly the same regardless of whether a user pushed the button. The button is a placebo.

Liz

[baiskeli]

@eminva 44652 wrote:

The button is a placebo.

And the proof is that no matter how many people are already waiting, anyone who reaches the signal is going to push that button, just in case. I can’t stop myself.

[GuyContinental]

@eminva 44652 wrote:

Just an FYI re: Gallows @ W&OD:
The light is green for Gallows/red for the W&OD for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Then it reverses for about 15 seconds. Repeat ad infinitum.
Liz

Boy does it seem longer… like watching water boil I suppose. I bet that the Van Buren light is similar but standing there in the cold being willed to cross by a LEO makes it seem much much longer.

[DaveK]

@ShawnoftheDread 44646 wrote:

The statute doesn’t mention a pedestrian signal at all. If you’re using a crosswalk without waiting for a walk signal, you’re not crossing “on a steady red light.”

I wish you luck. Let us know how it goes.

They never define the type of “red light” they’re talking about. A red signal can be in the form of a solid red hand, a red ball, a red arrow, or a red bike, maybe others if I can think of them. Since they don’t specify, it would logically have to apply to any one. A pedestrian signal is only one part of a larger signal system. Just because the vehicles get a standard R-Y-G signal doesn’t mean I as a cyclist have to obey the one for my approach any more or less, regardless of I’m with the vehicles in the road or on an intersecting trail. I don’t ride the W&OD much but if push came to shove I’d love to be the test case for this.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@DaveK 44705 wrote:

They never define the type of “red light” they’re talking about. A red signal can be in the form of a solid red hand, a red ball, a red arrow, or a red bike, maybe others if I can think of them. Since they don’t specify, it would logically have to apply to any one. A pedestrian signal is only one part of a larger signal system. Just because the vehicles get a standard R-Y-G signal doesn’t mean I as a cyclist have to obey the one for my approach any more or less, regardless of I’m with the vehicles in the road or on an intersecting trail. I don’t ride the W&OD much but if push came to shove I’d love to be the test case for this.

I think you’re switching terms to bolster your case. They never use the term “red signal,” and “red light” is not the same as a “do not walk” pedestrian signal.

[baiskeli]

@DaveK 44705 wrote:

They never define the type of “red light” they’re talking about. A red signal can be in the form of a solid red hand, a red ball, a red arrow, or a red bike, maybe others if I can think of them. Since they don’t specify, it would logically have to apply to any one. A pedestrian signal is only one part of a larger signal system. Just because the vehicles get a standard R-Y-G signal doesn’t mean I as a cyclist have to obey the one for my approach any more or less, regardless of I’m with the vehicles in the road or on an intersecting trail. I don’t ride the W&OD much but if push came to shove I’d love to be the test case for this.

You should read the law in full before you test it:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-833

[bobco85]

@baiskeli 44711 wrote:

You should read the law in full before you test it:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-833

The part that confuses me is where the law says:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a driver of a motorcycle or moped or a bicycle rider approaches an intersection that is controlled by a traffic light, the driver or rider may proceed through the intersection on a steady red light only if the driver or rider (i) comes to a full and complete stop at the intersection for two complete cycles of the traffic light…

Technically the intersection is being controlled by a traffic light, but the law does not explicitly state that this does not apply to crosswalks. Also, is the crosswalk/trail treated as a roadway or a pedestrian crossing? If it’s considered a pedestrian crossing, there is the law about pedestrians entering a crosswalk in disregard of oncoming traffic that could apply.

Of course, there’s also the issue of defending oneself in a case like this. Would the police officer have to prove that in this situation (and other situations involving red lights) you did not wait the full 2 minutes or 2 cycles (whichever is shorter) before crossing when giving a ticket?

[mstone]

The crosswalk is not a road. That is also why the stop signs are generally illegal.

[baiskeli]

@bobco85 44719 wrote:

Technically the intersection is being controlled by a traffic light, but the law does not explicitly state that this does not apply to crosswalks.

The law also says:

“driver or rider may proceed through the intersection on a steady red light”

which, combined with the context of the rest of the law and the reference to motorcycles, pretty clearly shows that the intent is to apply to roadway traffic only.

You could make a case here, but I wouldn’t want to make one in a real court.

[Author]

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