Photo: Todd Boulanger
Here’s a heads up on Oregon’s Share the Road license plate bill (S.B. 789) from BTA lobbyist Scott Bricker.
He just called from Salem to remind us that the bill has come a long way since I wrote about it last month. It has made it through a full Senate vote and through the necessary House committees.
It is now just a few days from being heard and receiving a vote in front of the full Oregon House of Representatives and then being signed into law by the Governor.
The bill is being championed by Eugene Democrat Floyd Prozanski, who was a friend of the late cyclist Jane Higdon. Higdon’s partner, Thomas Jefferson — who you might recall from his speech at the Oregon Bicycle Summit — is also officially named on the bill.
If this bill passes, Oregon will join many states who already offer a Share the Road plate including Florida (the #1 road rage state), Georgia, Texas, and our neighbors to the north, Washington.
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I was in downtown Seattle for 6 days a few weeks ago…I was actively looking for these plates but didn’t see a single one.
I know they haven’t had the program long (and most people won’t buy them until renewal time) but I was dissappointed not to see a single one.
Disco Dave, sorry that you had to travel all the way up to Seattle to try to see one…all you had to do was ride the Expo MAX and then 10 bike minutes to Vancouver over the bridge to see these plates on our Flexcars. Check http://www.flexcar.com for locations.
I just called the Bike Alliance of Washington and the number of sold plates is now over 2100.
For more information about setting up this programm call Dave at
206.224.9252 – info@bicyclealliance.org
http://www.bicyclealliance.org/shareplate/share_plate.html
Good luck Oregon!
Todd Boulanger
Senior Transportation Planner
City of Vancouver
Well, luckily I had some other reasosn for going to Seattle so the trip wasn’t a total bust 🙂
It does seem pretty messed up that Texas of all places has the bike plates but OR doesn’t.
How does the process of picking the art for the plate work (if the bill passes)?
It’s important to note that $28 of the fee ($40 for new or $30 for renewal) actually goes to the Bicycle Alliance of Washington; and even better, the $28 is tax-deductable.
A question I have is how effective are these plates in changing the behavior of drivers? It’s certainly a way to express our deveotion and affiliation to cycling. It is a way to tell drivers behind me that I am a cyclist and I believe in sharing the road between the two-wheeled peddlers and two-ton power wheels.
How about mini “share the road” license plates to put on bicycles for those of us that haven’t owned a car in over 12 years?
Disco D, I also wonder about the design process. The bill says, “(7)Notwithstanding subsection (3)of this section, the department shall design a Share the Road registration plate in
consultation with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and Cycle
Oregon.” That subsection 3 reads, “(3) Plates issued under this section shall be from the current regular issue of plates except that:…” and then goes on about special wording and images. I’m curious what “current regular issue” means? If it just applies to the number/letter sequence then we’d be free to do unique artwork.
The bill also says the Oregon surcharge would go to accounts designated by the BTA and Cycle Oregon.
I really hope this passes. Not only does this bill apply to “share the road” but veterans and higher education.
It is possible that the plate would just have a small logo on the tree plate, or the bill would also permit a complete redesign, which is clearly the preferred alternative. If it passed a committee would be formed to consult on the design.
If the bill passes, does anyone know the soonest the plates would be available?