HB 3150, a bill that would give every city in Oregon the authority to reduce speed limits on “neighborhood greenways” to 20 mph, just passed the Oregon House by a vote of 45-14. The bill came out of committee last week with a few no votes from lawmakers who said they were concerned about the … Read more
Cute, but safe?(Photo: Sent in by reader) There’s a new front in the war on distracted driving: lap animals. State Senator Ginny Burdick is the sponsor of Senate Bill 160, which would create a new traffic violation for, “operating a vehicle when an animal is in the operator’s lap.” The offense would come with a … Read more
Sen. Floyd Prozanski.(Photo © J. Maus) Senator Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene) says he will amend SB 846, a bill he introduced last month that would have required all new bicycle trailers sold in Oregon to meet a minimum set of safety standards. In an email to Eugene-area bike advocates, Prozanksi wrote: “I just learned from ODOT … Read more
Rep. Lindsay (R-Hillsboro) voted no on a bill that would reduce speed limits on residential streets. HB 3150 passed out of committee yesterday, but not without some drama. The bill, which would give cities the authority to reduce speed limits on certain “neighborhood greenway” streets to 20 mph, survived the House Transportation and Economic Development … Read more
“There is something magic about 20 mph… We can substantially reduce the likelihood of fatalities in our streets by having this important piece of legislation in place.” — Tom Miller, PBOT Director House Bill 3150 (PDF), which would give municipalities across Oregon the authority to reduce speeds on some residential streets to 20 mph, was … Read more
Senate Bill 334, a bill pushed as priority legislation by the City of Portland that would give local jurisdications more control over setting speed limits, has been scheduled for a hearing. The bill will be heard by the Senate Committee on Business, Transportation, and Economic Development on February 28th at 3:00 pm in Hearing Room … Read more
“I won’t be signing on to the bill… It’s not clear to me that there is an urgent need for legislation right now…”— Jules Bailey, Oregon House Representative The bicycle trailer bill we told you about last week is now officially known as SB 846 (text). The language hasn’t changed much and the intent is … Read more
Earlier today we reported on a hearing scheduled for a new bill that would give Oregon cities the authority to set lower speed limits on state highways all types of roadways. Now, according to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland), the bill has been scaled back to only focus on residential streets. In its … Read more
SE Powell.(Photo © J. Maus) UPDATE: This bill no longer exists in the form reported below. I’ve heard from Rep. Cannon’s office that HB 3150 will get the “gut and stuff” treatment; which means the language will be significantly altered. The new plan is to make HB 3150 a companion bill to Senate Bill 344, … Read more
House Bill 2824 is up for a public hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee in Salem today. The bill would create a new crime for “trafficking in bicycles with a destroyed or altered serial number.” Maximum punishment for a violation of the law would come with a $1,250 fine, 30 days in jail, … Read more
Under the new law, ODOT would come up with standards to make sure this guy stays safe.(Photo © J. Maus) A new bill set for introduction in the Oregon legislature would establish minimum construction standards for bicycle trailers sold in Oregon. The bill is currently in draft form (PDF here) and is expected to be … Read more
Lawmakers might elect to lower stop sign violation fines for bicycles.(Photo © J. Maus) A bill introduced in Salem yesterday would reduce the maximum fine for bicycle operators who fail to stop at a stop sign. Senate Bill 660 “Decreases penalty for failure to stop for stop sign to maximum fine of $40 for person … Read more
Comment of the Week: How a $100 bike changed one person’s life