Bernie Foster
thinks bikes should
be more highly
regulated.
(Photo: Skanner)
As bicycling continues to push its way into the mainstream here in Portland, the refrain over increased regulation — usually in the form of licensing — grows.
A few weeks back, Bernie Foster, the publisher of The Skanner, (a small weekly newspaper that “advanced the cause of the Black Press in the North Western United States”) wrote an editorial calling for cyclists to be regulated more like motor vehicle drivers.
On his long list of ideas — which included “bikeway tolls” and more separation between cars and bikes — was the always popular idea of licensing bicyclists.
Up in Seattle, one activist organization has started issuing “undrivers” licenses. Bicycle Alliance of Washington staffer (and long-distance riding legend) Kent Peterson showed his off on his blog…
Given the number of daily cyclists we have here in Portland, I wonder if something like this would take off here.
As for some sort of official, city-run licensing program, what I’ve heard from bike insiders is that regardless of whether or not licensing bicyclists is a good move, the idea just doesn’t “pencil out”. They say the administrative costs and logistics are a much larger headache than any “problem” the licensing would solve.
What do you think?