Self-described web developer, musician and bike geek T. J. VanSlyke, a Portland resident, has a track on his new album about the Idaho Stop law. VanSlyke describes his music as "white-boy electro rap" and the "Idaho Stop" track appears on his album "I Sold Out But No One Bought Me."
Before sharing some of the song's lyrics, here's some background on the Idaho Stop for all of you who are not familiar... (more...)
The Portland Mercury's Matt Davis is reporting that House Representative Jules Bailey (D-SE Portland) places blame for the demise of the Idaho Stop law on the way the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) handled the departure of Karl Rohde.
In an update to a story published yesterday on the Mercury blog, Davis reports that Bailey, the bill's main sponsor, said there was a "little bit of a disconnect" when Rohde was let go by the BTA and that it created "enough of a lag" that Bailey (and others) decided to "let it go and try again next season."
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"...they [legislators] had heard from a number of constituents who were very concerned and opposed to giving cyclists what they viewed as special rights."
--Doug Parrow, Chair of the BTA's Legislative Committee
An effort to pass the "Idaho Stop Law" in Oregon has officially ceased all forward motion.
I confirmed this morning from Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) legislative committee chair Doug Parrow that they were not able to convince a key legislator to schedule a work session on HB 2690. As a consequence, the BTA will move onto other bills and shelve the Idaho Stop idea for now. (more...)
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is working feverishly to garner more support for the Idaho Stop Law (HB 2690) with legislators in Salem.
According to BTA Executive Director and lobbyist Scott Bricker, the Chair of the House Transportation Committee has given him a significant hurdle -- line up 31 "yes" votes from House members (the number it would need to pass) or the bill will die in committee.
Committee Chair Terry Beyer (D-Springfield) holds the future of the bill in her hands because she is the only one who can schedule the all-important work session the bill needs in order to be voted on by the committee and then forwarded to the full House. The deadline for her to schedule that work session is tomorrow. (more...)
Lots of stop sign news at BikePortland headquarters today.
I spent my morning out at SE Water and Caruthers where city crews recently removed two stop signs that were deemed unnecessary, I just got off the phone with Traffic Division Lieutenant Bryan Parman about an "enforcement mission" (a.k.a. sting) at a stop sign on SE Clinton this morning, and I have been planning an update on the BTA's Idaho Stop legislation. (more...)
One surprise at the Idaho Stop bill hearing two weeks ago was outright opposition from an unexpected quarter -- the city of Eugene.
BikePortland obtained a copy of a letter in opposition from Lee Shoemaker, Eugene's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, outlining his concerns with the bill's effect on road safety, particularly for young people on bicycles.
We just received word that the City of Eugene has decided to change this position. Instead of opposing the bill, the city will now take a neutral stance. (more...)
Last week, when the Idaho Stop Law bill -- which would allow bikes to treat stop signs as yields (adopting a law similar to one already on the books in Idaho) -- was in its first hearing down in Salem, one surprise that emerged was a letter of opposition sent from the City of Eugene to the House Transportation Committee.
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance's government affairs director Karl Rohde said he was "surprised" about Eugene's move. Rohde told me this morning that none of the people the BTA works with in Eugene had warned him that there might be opposition to the bill.
Rohde said Eugene's opposition to the bill also came as a surprise to BTA board member and Eugene resident Paul Adkins (Adkins is also president of Eugene's local bike advovacy group, the Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARs)).
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[Update, 10:50am: According to a comment from Karl Rohde of the BTA, the work session has been delayed for a few weeks.]
The House Transportation Committee has scheduled a work session for the Idaho Stop law proposal (HB 2690).
The work session will take place this Wednesday (3/25) and the BTA's government affairs director and lobbyist Karl Rohde says it's very likely a vote will also take place.
I spoke with Rohde about the news this morning. Just yesterday, he expressed major concerns that biased and inaccurate media coverage of the bill was jeopardizing its chances.
Rohde said that scheduling a work session means that committee Chair Terry Beyer feels strongly enough about the bill that she's willing to discuss it further. Work sessions are closed to public testimony but Rohde will be on hand to answer any questions that might arise from committee members. (more...)
Karl Rohde, the BTA lobbyist who is working on a bill in Salem that would allow bicycles to treat stop signs as yields (known as the "Idaho Stop law"), tells us that the fate of the bill hangs in the balance. (The bill received its first committee hearing yesterday).
According to Rohde -- who called me from Salem with this update -- several legislators have informed him that HB 2690 is in jeopardy because their constituents are expressing opposition to the bill after several negative and/or inaccurate news reports have come out since yesterday. Those media stories have stoked a wave of concerned calls and emails to legislator's offices. (more...)
Below is the full, prepared text of Karl Rohde's testimony in front of the House Transportation Committee yesterday on behalf of the Idaho Stop law. Rohde is in charge of the BTA's government affairs and he is their lobbyist in Salem.
(For a full report from that hearing, read our story from yesterday.)
Chair Beyer and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today in support of House Bill 2690, the “Idaho Style Stop Law”. For the record, I am Karl Rohde, Government Relations and Public Affairs for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.
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[Note: This story was reported live. For results of the hearing, scroll to the end.]
I'm sitting in Hearing Room D inside the Capitol at a hearing by the House Transportation Committee for the BTA's Idaho Stop law.
In the room are the BTA's chief lobbyist Karl Rohde, lawyers Ray Thomas and Bob Mionske, members of the BTA's legislative committee Doug Parrow and Bjorn Warloe and even former BTA executive director Evan Manvel has stopped by (he now works on legislative policy for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters).
Representative Bailey (SE Portland) has just introduced the bill. Bailey is the bill's chief supporter and he opened his testimony with a copy of the recent Oregon Business magazine that touts the state's "Bicycle Industrial Complex." (more...)
"And you're scratching your head wondering when was the last time you saw one actually stop."
-- Harry Esteve, The Oregonian
It's the BTA's worst nightmare.
They've spent months preparing for the smooth passage of the Idaho Stop Law (the proposed bill, HB 2690, would allow bicycle operators to enter a stop-sign controlled intersection without stopping when safe, and once they've yielded to all other traffic). Members of their legislative committee have traveled to Idaho to speak with transportation planners and law enforcement officials about the law (which has been on the books there since the 1980s without incident). The BTA's legislative team has also spent countless hours working the Salem offices of our state legislators answering their questions and clearing up their confusions about the proposed law.
Then, in one fell swoop, the largest media outlet in the entire state can pen a story that pans the idea -- and it's not even on the editorial page. (more...)
The BTA's proposal for an Idaho-style stop sign law will get its first public hearing and committee vote later this month.
BTA lobbyist Karl Rohde told me this morning that the bill, HB 2690, is scheduled to go in front of the House Transportation Committee at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18th. (more...)
Arizona's attempt to adopt an "Idaho-style" stop sign law for bikes has come to a complete stop. According to an article published yesterday in the Tucson Citizen, the bill -- which would have changed Arizona's stop sign law to permit bicycles to treat them as yields (a.k.a. "Idaho-style" because Idaho has had this law on their books since 1982) -- failed to get out of committee.
The state rep who proposed the bill, Doug Quelland (R-Phoenix) reportedly wore his "cycling garb" in front of the committee prior to the vote. Spandex and all, his bill was voted down 5-3.
The experience in Arizona is interesting to watch because a very similar bill (HB 2690) is currently being pushed through the Oregon legislature by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA). (more...)
If you're looking for more information from the BTA on why they've decided to push the Oregon legislature to pass a law that would make it legal for people on bicycles to roll through stop signs (a.k.a. an "Idaho-style" stop sign law), read the statement just published by their lobbyist Karl Rohde.
Here are some excerpts:
Coming to a complete stop at all stop signs, rather than yielding at safe operating speeds, substantially reduces the efficiency of riding a bicycle and can create unsafe conditions.
The Frequently Asked Questions below were developed by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) as supporting material for their Idaho Stop Law proposal.
What would this law do?
This law would make it legal for bicyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs. A cyclist approaching an intersection controlled by a stop sign, would be permitted to roll through the stop sign after yielding the right of way if there are other vehicles at the intersection.
Would cars have to stop and wait for bicyclists?
No, this law change would allow a cyclist to slowly approach the intersection and proceed only if the intersection was clear and it was safe to continue. The law does not grant a cyclist permission to take the right of way from another vehicle. (more...)
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), a Portland-based non-profit with over 5,000 members statewide, has proposed a new law that would make it legal to roll through a stop sign while riding a bicycle in Oregon.
In an interview this afternoon, BTA lobbyist Karl Rohde said the bill language is currently being drafted in Salem and it will be officially known as the "Idaho Stop Law".
"We feel the law needs to change to reflect the safe behavior that's happening now," said Rohde, "Coming to a complete stop isn't necessary for a vehicle (bicycle) that does not pose the same threat to other road users and whose operators have a greater awareness of their surroundings." (more...)
Continuing the discussion of whether or not Oregon should seek an Idaho-style, roll-and-go stop sign law for bicycles, I recently looked back at our previous flirtation with the idea.
Back in the 2003 legislative session, Senator (he was in the House back then) Floyd Prozanksi (D-Eugene) sponsored House Bill 2768. Here is the summary of that bill:
"Permits person operating bicycle to enter intersection with specified traffic control device without stopping providing person operating bicycle slows to safe speed and yields right of way to traffic or pedestrians. Permits person operating bicycle to turn without stopping at intersection with specified traffic control device providing person operating bicycle slows to safe speed and yields right of way to traffic or pedestrians."
With the recent flap over stop sign enforcement, there is growing momentum to consider a change in the law. Idaho's example is often held up as a model Oregon might seek to emulate.
Since 1982 Idaho has had a law in the books that allows cyclists to treat stop-signs as yields. In 2005 lawmakers went one step further and passed legislation that said stop-lights can be treated like stop-signs.
Is this type of law necessary in Oregon? The jury is still out but it already seems to have some momentum.
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The recent enforcement mission in Ladds Circle has created a fervor of action and discussion. Twenty-four hours after the incident and comments are still coming in.
Here's a quick recap of what happened:
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