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Entries tagged: Ordinance

According to Bike Pittsburgh (Bike PGH), “Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed the Bike Parking Ordinance this week.  The ordinance is an amendment to the zoning code that requires all new and “change-in-use” buildings to install bicycle parking, just like they already must do for cars.  There is also an incentive component to the ordinance, whereby a developer can replace up to 30% of their car parking requirement with bicycle parking. Basically, it makes sure that bikes are considered during the planning process, instead of trying to retrofit for them afterward.

Councilman Patrick Dowd connected the dots and discussed how this ordinance is just a piece of the broader concept of what ‘we really have to do’ to turn Pittsburgh into a bicycle-friendly city.  He cited the four-E’s commitment from the city: enforcement, education, economic incentives, and engineering.”

For over two years, BikePGH has been working on this measure, with the planning department and the mayor’s bike/ped coordinator, researching best practices from other cities, getting input from architects and developers in order to get this piece of code written, and encouraging cyclists and other members of the public to participate in the process. This is a big win for BikePGH and a milestone for bicycling in the city of Pittsburgh. 

To view the full ordinance and find out more about BikePGH click here.

BikeDenver recently announced that on November 23rd Denver’s City Council approved a bill to amend many sections of the Revised Municipal Code related to bicycling.

The new ordinances took effect on Friday, November 27th and amend City traffic laws related to bicycles to partially conform with a new Colorado state law. The new law allows speed-restricted riding on sidewalks for the limited purpose of parking and eliminates obsolete language associated with licensing.  Councilwoman Carla Madison (pictured right) who championed the effort within the council says: “It’s good policy to have state and city law aligned, and it’ll be nice to see people be able to legally ride to park their bike.” 

BikeDenver Executive Director Piep van Heuven said: “It’s very important that Denver’s laws mirror those recently adopted on the State level that ensure key protections for bicyclists like 3-Feet to Pass.  Synchronizing City code with Colorado’s Bicycle Safety Law will make riding a bike in Denver and operating motor vehicles around bikes in Denver safer for all of us.  We’re also pleased to see City Council so actively involved in the effort to make Denver a safe, convenient and fun place to ride a bike.”

BikeDenver worked for months with stakeholders and councilmembers including to suggest ordinance revisions that would bring Denver in line with State and National standards.  BikeDenver’s van Heuven said: “It was great to see so many interested parties at the table and on the same page.”  Groups and offices involved in the effort included representatives from the Downtown Denver Partnership, the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, Denver City Attorney’s Office, Denver Bike Sharing, Greenprint Denver, Denver Police Department, and the Department of Public Works.

For more of the story, including the specific key changes to Denver’s Bike Ordinances, visit http://www.bikedenver.org/news/denverbikeordinances/.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation is celebrating the passage of a bicycle harassment law which was passed unanimously by the Columbia City Council on June 15th, 2009, following a ninety-minute debate with about twenty citizens present. The ordinance, effective immediately, makes it a Class A Misdemeanor to throw objects at a bicyclist, or honk or shout for the purpose of frightening, disturbing, or threatening the bicyclist. The Ordinance may be modified in the next few weeks to include other vulnerable users.

For more information, click here…

With City Council’s resounding “yeah” vote, the City of Pittsburgh now has bike rack installation rules similar to other cities with bike friendly status. Reflective of a new found commitment to transform Pittsburgh into a “world class city” of bikeable and walkable communities, the ordinance will allow for bicycle racks to be installed in the public right-of-way by property and business owners through a simple and expedited process. Read more about this first major accomplishment of the recently hired Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, a city position created by BikePGH.

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