Bicycle Safety Bill

A guest editorial in the Des Moines Register on Feb. 15 questioning the Bicycle Safety Bill currently being considered in the Iowa House:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102150307

My response on behalf of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition to be published by the Register:

"In a recent Iowa View entitled "Legislation isn’t the answer for bike safety," Will Rogers of the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association made several valid points that deserve affirmation, and he asked several questions and made statements that deserve response and clarification.

Mr. Rogers asks how the bicycle safety bill currently under consideration in the Iowa House would make it safer for bicycles to be on the road, while he states that the law wouldn’t be enforced. The proposal requires bicyclists to obey traffic signs & signals, requires a minimum 5' passing distance, and makes it illegal to intentionally buzz or throw items at people on bicycles. For an answer to his question, ask the woman near LeMars who was hit with a full beer can, knocked unconscious, and left for dead on the road. Ask Leesa Shoemaker, who was riding to work at the Polk County Jail, who was struck from behind, fractured her leg in two places, and endured a year's worth of surgeries and rehab. Each of them would tell how this bill would have made them safer.

These proposed changes would become part of the Iowa Code, as well as the Driver’s Manual and driver’s education curricula. They would provide uniformity in law enforcement across the state. It’s been shown over the past several years that the enforcement and prosecution of traffic laws are not uniform. Ken Sherman was hit in Des Moines last year, clearly having the right-of-way. No traffic ticket was issued. Randy Van Zee was killed in 2008, and the driver was given a $35 traffic ticket. The County Attorney felt the law was not clear enough to prosecute with the same penalties as vehicular crashes. But a similar crash that killed Mark Anderson near Spencer last year was clear enough to bring the same charges as a vehicular crash.

A 5-foot minimum passing distance is specified in the bill being considered. In a 2001 Iowa Supreme Court case, Vasconz v. Mills, a teacher riding a bicycle was struck from behind by a person driving a truck.† The Iowa Supreme Court said the person riding the bicycle was operating lawfully.† It was the driver of the truck who had a choice to pass safely or follow until it is safe to do so.† This law defines that safe distance. People may still drive dangerously with or without a 5' passing distance, but many people will think twice when the law clearly states the action is dangerous and that there will be a penalty if the law is violated.

Rogers also states that the majority of cyclists on our roads are there for leisure or exercise. For many Iowans, commuting by bike is their only option. The Des Moines Bicycle Collective spends about 40 percent of its staff time helping Des Moines residents who rely on a bicycle as their only form of transportation. Most rely on their bicycle for economic reasons; they simply can't afford a car. In the brutal month of December, there were more than 900 uses of the bike racks on DART buses in the Des Moines area. By combining bikes and transit buses, many residents get to precious jobs and reduce their commuting costs. Unfortunately, the multi-use paths that Mr. Rogers references do not lead to many places of employment. In addition, most people would have to use streets and roads to access the bike trails.

Iowans, including commuters, recreational riders, and children riding to school and for play, need and deserve the provisions of the Bicycle Safety Bill."

Mora Vasaloppet

Polking 2:59
Yunek 2:59
Beavers 3:36

Complete Race Results

City of the Lakes Loppet

Results: time ovrall/div/sexpl
Evan Petersen 1:49 190/38/81
Robert Polking 1:55 282/15/70
Dwight Beavers 2:16 584/2/508

North Iowa Nordic Update

Andy O. and Jay F. were out for hours today trying to pack this latest snowfall. The snow was dryer than one may think…light and fluffy. Andy got stuck 4 times on the opening loop and was left to un-hitch the groomer and just drive the snowmobile over it to initially pack what had fallen.

Jay then took over and had to do the same thing. WE NEED OUR ROLLER! A ROLLER would have saved us hours today. It is ordered…just not here. Next year…for now were getting by due to dedicated efforts of many folks. THANK YOU!

Jay was able to make a grooming pass on all loops then as well.

Evan P. plans to attempt to groom again in the AM Tues before the winds pick up. Then it will be time to wait…let the wind blow its heart out…and regroom. I am sure we’ll have some drifting to then manage on Wednesday.

I know many of you have yet to groom yet have offered to. Maybe Wed might work to get another 1 or 2 of our “feet wet” so to speak. The fact is that most of the grooming as of late has been done in the later evening hours (between 8:30 and midnight) when the temps are falling and the trails are not in use. This allows the trail to set up to. Early AM grooming is appropriate if temps allow…but ideally should be done early enough to allow the trail to set up for 2-3 hours. This requires finishing the groom by say 5-6:00 AM…and many of us are sleeping then in order to get out the door to work.

I have received many nice compliments this year from skiers on the trails. If you all receive such comments we need to have those folks forward those comments to the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board. Remember, right now we just have a one year contract to groom. I foresee us being granted the permission to groom again next year…and plan to have this OK’d by the board early in 2010 so we can plan some fundraising, etc. for North Iowa Nordic (NIN).

Lastly, we have also been grooming Pilot Knob on Fri or Sat PM’s in hopes of skiing the next AM early before snowmobiles show up. We have been laying down a classic track there and have had many encounters with local skiers that LOVE IT! Deb Coates, park ranger, at the Knob has been very open and easy to work with. She has really enjoyed our efforts and reports that many people have been very pleased with our efforts there too. She also skis. This weekend we put in (counting loading time, travel time, grooming time) approx 6 ½ hours of time at the Knob…HOWEVER, each day the groom was ruined in 10 minutes by a pack of snowmobiles. This happens each week. It makes rejuvenating and leveling the trail there a much more time consuming process. If I were a recreational skier and not training for a race…I would no longer waste my time grooming the Knob. BUT WE WANT TO…SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO SKI.

NEXT YEAR OUR GOAL IS TO TRY AND GET THE MAIN ROAD PILOT KNOB DESIGNATED AS A DEDICATED SKI TRAIL ONLY. NO SNOWMOBILES. Based on the trails system there the snowmobiles could still access the park trails and avoid the road. I am currently gathering info from other State Park trail systems that have designated ski trails. If you know of any skiers, snowshoers, hikers, etc in the Forest City area let us know…we’d like to contact them to start to gain some momentum locally to get this done. I was even told by one of the locals that a lady who has been skiing the Knob for years reported to their City Council of our efforts and the great skiing.

Anyone may forward this to whomever they wish. I would like to get it out to NI Spin, NI Touring Club, “River City Racers” etc membership too.

That’s all for now everyone.

Thanks,

Todd Juhlin

North Iowa Spin contributed $500 to the Greater Iowa/South Dakota Chapter of JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. We did this to thank Tracy Kading, manager of HyVee East, for allowing us to use the space for our indoor cycling classes. When you see Tracy, thank him personally.