Idaho Pedestrian & Bicycle Alliance

Representative Roy Lacey out of Pocatello sponsored House bill 586, which passed the House Transportation Committee this week by a vote of 8-4. H586 is now at the House to be voted on by the General Order with amendments. We have not seen the amendments, and won't until they are made public, but believe they are in response to cyclists who ride two abreast.

We would like to share with our members the pros and cons we see to this bill.  

Pros:

1. Establishes a 3-foot minimum clearance passing distance between a motor vehicle and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT).* (Modifies 49-631, 49-632, 49-633.)

• Current law requires motor vehicle drivers to use “due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian or any person propelling a human-powered vehicle” (49-615), and when overtaking another vehicle to pass “at a safe distance” (49-632).
• Bicycles are defined as vehicles in Idaho (49-103), so 49-632 already applies.
• H586 clarifies that 3 feet is a minimum safe distance for bicycles and other NMT.

2. Establishes that a motor vehicle driver cannot pass a NMT user on the left and then immediately make a right turn.

• This is called the “right hook” by bicyclists, a common crash type.   

3. Clarifies that a motor vehicle driver can pass a NMT user in a no passing zone (crossing a double yellow line), provided it can be done safely. (Modifies 49-634.)

• Current law allows motor vehicle drivers to pass “obstructions” in no passing zones (49-630), but many motorists are unaware of the statute or reluctant to do so, the current statute may not be consistently interpreted by law enforcement and courts, and some NMT users do not like being viewed as obstructions.

Cons:

1. Would require NMT users to turn off or step off the roadway when 3 or more vehicles are formed in a line behind NMT, “wherever sufficient area for a safe turnout or step-off exists, in order to permit the following vehicles to pass.” (Modifies 49-631, 49-632, 49-633.)

• Current law requires slower moving vehicles to turn off the roadway when 3 or more vehicles are formed in a line; however, it only applies on two-lane roads “outside an urban area” (49-639).
• As vehicles, 49-639 already applies to bicycles.
• H586 would apply to all roads, including those in urban areas. Traffic conditions in urban areas often result in lines of more than 3 vehicles.
•  “Sufficient area for a safe turnout or step-off” is vague.
• What appears to be a sufficient, safe area for a motorist or enforcement officer may not appear to be sufficient and safe to a NMT user.
• H586 decreases vagueness about a “safe distance” to pass, but increases vagueness about appropriate places to turn out.

2. HB586 would require NMT users to count the number of vehicles to their rear, which is physically challenging and decreases safety.

• NMT are not required to have rear view mirrors, so determining the number of vehicles in line behind requires turning the head and upper body almost backwards, which is physically challenging for many individuals and increases the likelihood of losing control of NMT devices.
• Most crash hazards for bicyclists are in front, not behind. Devoting more of a bicyclist’s attention to determining how many vehicles are in line behind decreases a bicyclist’s safety.
• H586 would make NMT users responsible for motorist’s actions.

3. Passing a NMT by a motorist is optional. A motorist can choose not to pass a NMT for a variety of reasons, e.g. overly cautious, unaware of law. Such a motorist may be the cause of the line of 3 or more vehicles, yet it is the NMT user that must get off the roadway.

4. Unknowns about 3-feet-to-pass law’s effectiveness.

• Although about 20 states have passed 3-foot-to-pass (or some other specified distance) laws for bicyclists, there has been no evaluation of their effectiveness.
• No research showing that bicyclists are more or less safe after law’s passage.
• No information on law enforcement’s willingness to enforce.
• No information about laws’ effects on fault/liability in crashes.
• Primary benefit claimed to be educational (motorist more aware of need for 3-foot clearance), but no evaluations done.

5. H586 attempts to address all NMT modes in the same manner and code section.

• Under current law, bicycles, pedestrians, and horse riders are all treated separately, each having different operational characteristics and legal duties and responsibilities.
• Pedestrians are addressed in 49-701 to 49-707.
• Bicycles are vehicles (49-103) and bicyclists have all the rights and duties applicable to drivers of other vehicles, except for the provisions in 49-715 to 49-724 (49-714).
• Horse riders have all the rights and duties of vehicle drivers (49-609).
• Motorized wheelchairs are specifically defined as motor vehicles (49-114), but human-powered wheelchairs are not mentioned, although they would seem to fall under the definition of vehicle (49-123).
• Runners are currently undefined in statute.
• H586 adds confusion about NMT rights and duties.

Potential Improvements to H586:

• Remove the provisions requiring NMT turn off or step off when line of 3 or more forms behind.
• Make turn off provision applicable only in non-urban areas, consistent with current statute.
• If the real issue is groups of bicyclists riding 2 or more abreast, then address issue by changing 49-718 Riding Two Abreast.
• Rewrite entire bill to address each mode according to their operating characteristics and legal standing.

I have been thinking a lot about walking lately, and why it's so important to us.  I do not consider myself a pedestrian. But is this really true?  

Many of us grew up in the '70's and '80's when we all walked to school.  Every day.  My school was probably 1/2 to 1 mile each way.  I did get my mother to pick me up from school once in fourth grade by feigning a stomach ache just to see if she actually knew where my school was.  As kids, we walked to friends' houses, the corner grocery store, the movies.  In fact, when I got together with my friends in high school, we'd just go walk the streets in our neighborhood to get out of our houses!  We had no place to go, it felt good, and we got caught up.  It was what we did and we would never have considered ourselves pedestrians although clearly we were.

I had a surprising thought this morning while I was out walking my dog. Until eight years ago, I had not actually walked on the foothills trails that are two blocks from my house.  I had run on them.  I had mountain biked on them.  But I had never walked.  Today, I spend at least 45 minutes every single day on those trails with my dog who I adopted 8 years ago (I've lived here for 20 years).  So, yes, I am definitely a pedestrian, and so are you. We all are at some point every single day.

Do Idaho cities offer a walkable environment? Below are walk scores according to walkscore.com:

Boise 94 Walker's paradise
Ketchum 89 Very walkable
Hailey 92 Walker's paradise
Meridian 85 Very walkable
Idaho Falls 78 Very walkable
Twin Falls 82 Very walkable
Sandpoint 91 Walker's paradise
Moscow 89 Very walkable
Coeur d'Alene 78 Very walkable
Lewiston 78 Very walkable
McCall 86 Very walkable
Nampa 35! Car Dependent

Many towns in Idaho are very rural. For example, Carey has a walkscore of only 26 with a population of 504 and Fairfield has a walkscore of only 37 with a population of 417. Smaller does not equate to better walkability.  Walkscore's algorithm looks at walking routes and distances to certain amenities such as grocery stores, restaurants, shopping, schools, or banks and combines this with poor pedestrian-friendly metrics like blocks that are too long.  It looks like we need to make these rural communities more walkable. Infrastructure centered around walking includes more sidewalks and pathways so driving vechicles isn't our only option.

The benefits of a walkable community are:
Economic: You don't need to fill up with expensive gas to go for a walk. 
Health: You will weigh less and have a healthier heart if you live in a walkable community rather than a sprawling suburban neighborhood.
Climate Change:  Your feet do not produce a climate changing noxious gas
Sense of Community:  Something we have been missing as we've spent more and more time behind the wheel and less time with family and friends.

Here is a video from everybodywalk.org from walkers sharing what they love about walking:Youtubewalkersspeakvideo

And here is a video from the CEO of Kaiser Permanente talking about the astounding health benefits only 30 minutes of walking per day can have on each of us: Youtubekaiserceovideo

Now get out there and go for a walk!