The Blog Page

News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

Two-wheelers are 2nd-rate in this state

Our friends at the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation have passed along this link from the Beacon News, a newspaper in the Chicago suburb of Aurora. I think the column, written by Jeff Long, is basically on target.

Municipal, township and other governmental entities have fought legislative efforts to overturn Boub v. Wayne because of the fears of litigation from cyclists injured on their roads. I can understand that to some extent, but since Illinois cylists are allowed to use most roads, they should be offered the same protections as other users of the road.

I don't have a problem with police wanting to ticket cyclists who violate the law as long as they make the same effort to punish motorists who violate the law. Yes, like most cyclists, I roll through many stop signs, but I slow down enough so I can stop if I need to. And if I know the interesection is in a congested urban area or if the intersection has obstructions like buildings, tree or tall stands of corn, I stop.

Roger 1 comments 2:41 PM

Comments:

First of all, love your feed on the right. Glad I found our site today.

Anyway, things are a struggle for cyclists everywhere. I'm just getting back to riding these last few years and plan on training harder over the winter to be ready for a more active spring this year.

In Maryland Heights we have a trails initiative going on and, if approved, I could make it to Creve Coeur park and on toward the Katy without really having to deal with traffic, except to cross streets. Sadly, it's being fought tooth and nail because of fears of litter and crime. Sigh.

What's worse, is if I hop on my bike and ride the streets, some of the same people will probably be irritated at me because of my sheer existance. No-win. I hope these trails get approved.

That was sort of on topic as a comment, right?

# posted by  Anonymous : 11:06 AM

 

Post a Comment