All:
Reading through the comments below, a few thoughts.
No one was in favor of the very last minute amendment
to the Bill. When those of us who followed the Bill became aware of it
just before it was heard on the Senate floor we immediately and vehemently urged
Senator Wirth to be against it. I want to be clear about that. The
amendment creates uncertainty and ambiguity as to what are the rights of
bicyclists to use the road. Note: when the same Bill went through the
legislature in 2011 (that was vetoed by the Governor Martinez) there no attempt
to amend the Bill at the last minute.
What I have been told is that In the judgment of Sen.
Wirth the Bill was not going to pass the Senate without the amendment, so he and
Rep. Rubio accepted the amendment as a “friendly” amendment. In Sen.
Wirth’s and Rep. Rubio’s judgment, the 5-feet To Pass portion of the Bill was
important enough in their view to accept a softly worded amendment that in their
opinion would be hard to enforce. That’s my second hand understanding of
it anyway.
On the amendment language, bicyclists
are already required to ride as far to the right as is practicable on a roadway
by New Mexico statute. A bike lane is considered part of the roadway. So this
part of the amendment is essentially duplicative of existing law. As related to
bicycling "practicable" means what can be done successfully and safely and that
is based on a variety of factors such as roadway conditions, convenience, and
the individual cyclist's capabilities. And of course, bicyclists may use the
full lane as those circumstances dictate.
I
am not aware of any traffic citation issued in New Mexico or know of a any
reported legal case in the state that involves a bicyclist’s judgment as to what
is practicable.
It is important to distinguish between a bike lane
and a paved shoulder. The road shoulder, the portion of the pavement to
the right of the white fog line, is not defined under state statute as part of
the roadway and is not a bike lane and certainly not a vehicle lane. The
amendment does not apply to paved road shoulders.
There is nothing in the amendment that prevents
bicyclists from riding on a shoulder (as on any part of Tramway) as again paved
shoulders are not bike lanes (nor are they part of or a vehicle
lane).
Bike lanes are not defined under state statute, but
are described as "a portion of a roadway which has been designated by pavement
markings and, if used, signs, for the preferential or exclusive use of
bicyclists" under engineering standards used by the State, e.g., the American
Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) engineering
guidelines.
In my view there is nothing in the amendment that
is going to force bicyclists from the Tramway shoulder on to the
bicycle trail that parallels the north-south portion of
Tramway.
On North 14 between Tijeras and Sandia Crest Road/Frost Road, on the right
side there is paved facility in poor condition. It also doesn’t meet
engineering design standards for a multi-use trail. This is more in the
nature of a sidewalk – sidewalks are not subject to the Motor Vehicle
Code. The few green state bicycle route signs and yellow bicycle warning
signs apply to the entire roadway on this section of the 14. In my own
view there is nothing in the amendment that prevents riding on the paved
shoulder there and into the travel lane as practicable. Same story for
Frost Road IMHO. BTW, NMDOT no longer formally designates state bicycle
routes and any signs designating a state bicycle route are legacy signs.
If the Bill does not become law, no doubt there will be an attempt to pass
a “clean” bill without the amendment in 2020. If the Bill becomes law,
there will be an attempt in 2020 to remove the amendment language
So that’s what I know.. I hope this provides some clarity as to where
we are right now.
-----------------------------------------------------
Brian
Kreimendahl
Santa Fe, New
Mexico
-----------------------------------------------------
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2019 1:05 AM
Subject: Re: [NMCycling] Fwd: HB 192 (5-Feet To Pass Bicycles) Final
VoteHelp
Want to ride Tramway? Well now you're limited to the bike path.
Want to ride Frost? Get on the bike path. N 14? Get on the
bike path. Southbound on 5th? Get in the awful bike lane that's
between the curb and parked cars. This is even worse than I thought it
was. Instead of making cycling safer, this is making cycling on the road
illegal in large parts of the State.
Were you guys not ready for this obvious and predictable maneuver to poison
pill your bill? Of course not - you can't even see how bad it
is.
John,
I do not agree with your assessment. This new law, with amendment, is 5
feet of progress with an inch or two backsliding. It is a good deal. Please
support it.
Carl
PS: The amendment states "To the extent practicable, a person shall not
operate a bicycle within a vehicle lane if a separate posted or painted
bicycle lane or pathway is provided within or adjacent to the roadway" In this
language the word "practicable" is key. It is up to the bicycle rider to make
the determination. This same language, using the "practicable" language is
what gives bicycle riders the "Bikes May Use Full Lane" right.
Carl
And of course, the Senate has tacked a mandatory bike lane law onto
this legislation. It has gone from a feel good law that in reality
would do nothing to one that does actual harm to the rights of cyclists to
use the roadways in safe and reasonable manner.
I urge everyone to contact your House representives and ask then to
vote against the bill as amended in the Senate.
NM Bike Racers,
As the note from Brian Kreimendahl below emphasizes, now is the time
to act. It is very important to get people from ACROSS THE STATE to
contact your state senator. The URL make is very very easy. You can do
this in 3 minutes. It is especially important that people who are NOT from
the major cities contact their senator. This is a good think for the
bicycle community. Please do this,
Cheers,
Carl
---------- Forwarded message
---------
From:
Brian
Kreimendahl <bpk@zianet.com>Date: Sat, Mar 9, 2019 at
8:43 AM
Subject: HB 192 (5-Feet To Pass Bicycles) Final Vote
Help
To: Brian Kreimendahl <
bpk@zianet.com>
All:
HB 192 (5-Feet To Pass Bicycles Bill) is now on the Senate floor
calendar for its final vote in the New Mexico State Legislature. If
approved by the full Senate, HB 192 goes to the Governor’s desk for her
signature.
So we now need you to contact your State Senator and ask for their
support for this Bill. This link will take you to a webpage that
will allow you to easily input your street address to find your Senator
and send an email of support:
So far we’ve won five of the six votes needed to move HB 192 through
the legislature. This full Senate vote is the most challenging as
the Senate is a more conservative political body than the State
House. It is going to be tight and we absolutely need your
help.
Please feel free to circulate this email and link to others and help
get the word out. The Senate vote will take place during the week
beginning Monday, March 11, and will depend on how quickly the Bills in
front of HB 192 are debated and voted on. The legislative session
ends at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, March 16.
The support from the bicycling community in New Mexico for this Bill
has been tremendous and we need your help one more time.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------------------
Brian
Kreimendahl
For Bike Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Mobile:
505-228-4499
-----------------------------------------------------
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