Helmet Head

I was under the impression that generally cyclists are only banned in this country on roads where drivers of other types of slow moving vehicles are also banned (namely, freeways - except for bike lane shoulders on some freeway sections, and certain bridges and tunnels).

But Robert has made the following claim in the What's wrong with calling bicycling dangerous? thread:


I don't know of any such roads in San Diego or San Diego County, and I've lived here for over 25 years. On the local coalition there seems to be an understanding that a ban of bikes specifically would be illegal in CA. It's not so easy for me to check outside of SD, much less outside of CA.

So, does anyone have any examples of public roadways in the U.S. where cyclists specifically are banned, but drivers of all other types of slow vehicles are not banned?

We already know about College Ave in Fort Collins (though it's unknown whether drivers of other types of slow moving vehicles are allowed). Any others?

Hawkear

Isn't there an entire city in Illinois that has banned bicycling on roads?

Keith99

I can name a few sections that are the opposite, e.g. sections of freeway where cycling is permitted.

The only place I can think of where cycling is prohibited on a road that is not a 'limited access' situation is a couple of areas on the UCSB Campus. But in a technical sense those are not public motorways.

Cycliste

Bridges can be a big problem. We have two bridges here that are illegal to bicycle on. Many cyclists still ride on them, I have done it but have been avoiding them for the last couple of years.
Main reason is the metallic grids that can be slippery and tend to move when heavy traffic rolls on them and can make a cyclist falls, the grids can also have grooves or spaces wide and long enough to trap a front wheel.

Advocacy groups are constently working with local authorities to get this improved but this can takes years to get into a rehabilitation plan.
A projet underway near me is the reabilitation of a bridge that links NH to ME to accomodate bikes and peds as the bridge is being renovated, pretty big project (read here).

I live close to one of the few bridges that are legally accessible by bike and can appreciate the convenience, otherwise most of my rides would go south

When you hear a new bridge is being built or an existing one renovated, check with your local municipal/regional autorities and advocacy groups what provision is being made for bicyclists. It's worth it.

IROman

There is a swimming pool near me that bicycles are not allowed in, but only when it is filled with mustard.

JRA

According to Fred Oswald, there are many cities in NE Ohio alone with bans on riding a bicycle in the road.

Lab Reform is evidently only making a stink about Fort Collins in a lame attempt to embarass LAB. It has the stench of mud-sling on the part of those who evidently set out to "dig up dirt" without having any actual knowledge of the situation on the ground in Fort Collins. It is the dirt diggers that should be embarassed.

As I said, Fred Oswald has identified several cities in NE Ohio with bans, so many that I'll list just the first few:

Rating Bicycle trafic Laws in NE Ohio

Some laws forbid cycling on roadways...

Avon - F minus "A person operating a bicycle shall ride upon the sidewalk rather than the roadway when sidewalks are available..."
"Whenever a designated usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a street, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the street."

Bay Village - D minus "Wherever a designated path for bicycles and tricycles has been provided adjacent to a street, bicycle and tricycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the street...

Bedford Heights - "Whenever a designated usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a street, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the street.
(c) No person shall ride a bicycle across or through any intersection involving a through street. Such intersections are to be crossed by walking the bicycle across or through the intersection.

There are many more bans - and I'm sure that NE Ohio is not unique. So HH, your "let's not set a precedent" domino theory is total BS as so many of your theories are. Maybe there's some other VC dogma you can use to explain the situation in Ft. Collins to those who have actually been to Ft. Collins. I'm sure they can hardly wait as can I.

Bockman

Ridge Road in Chicago, which is perfect for bicycles in terms of traffic volume and road width, is banned for cyclists.

genec

What about bans on other classes of vehicles... there are truck routes and bans for large vehicles... that is a "ban by class of vehicle..." that falls into that slipperly slope concept. Can a cement truck go everywhere?

What about restrictions to other types of vehicles... such as horse and buggy? Can a horse and buggy go everywhere?

chipcom 

Being from NE Ohio, that is only the tip of the iceberg...but for the most part we just ignore those laws for the most part and I rarely see anyone try to enforce them. Soon, state law should make those local laws moot anyway.

Helmet Head

Good to hear.

JRA

Fortunately, some anti-cycling ordinances are virtually unenforceable. Unfortunately, they are sometimes enforced selectively.

chipcom 

I ride the lakefront in Bay Village a lot at lunch time in the summer - every now and then I ride right past a cop who has some cyclist pulled over...though I never stop to ask why he's pulled over. I have gotten 'the look' from the cop a few times though, as I glide by in a centerish lane position.

joejack951

Kelly Drive in Philadelphia (near the Art Museum) has a ban on bicycles on the roadway during morning rush hour (7-9am or so). This is a 2 lane each way road with a MUP along side of it. I don't know the exact speed limit on this road but I don't believe it to be much higher than 40mph. I only became aware of this ban on a recent jog along the path so I don't know how long it has existed. I cycled that stretch of road often during college during afternoon rush hour and didn't have any issues. I used the road as the MUP was usually too crowded with pedestrians to be able to ride along with any speed. The signage on the road specifically states bicycles and not slow moving vehicles.

I have yet to come across any roads in Delaware except for interstates and bridges where bicycles are not allowed.

sbhikes

HH, I think you'll find less ordinances prohibiting bikes from surface streets in the west than in the east because the scale of things is much bigger and more spread out here in the west.

thelung

there are a few non-interstate bridges in the Richmond area and SE Virginia that prohibit bicycles. I ride them anyway though.

I-Like-To-Bike

I'm very familiar with Kelly Drive. having commuted on the MUP when the road was called the East River Drive. The road at the time was not banned to cyclists. Not once in 5 years did I ever see a cyclist take the roadway; except for club riders on the weekend on their "training rides". The MUP was almost empty on any workday morning. The roadway would be limited to 40 mph (which is a speedway by Philadelphia standards) because there isn't a 100 foot stretch of straight road on it for the length of it. The 4 lanes are approx. 8 foot wide; 2 lanes each direction., no seperation between any of the lanes except for a paint stripe. Non stop traffic during the rush hours from the falls Bridge to the Art Museum, about 4 miles. Presumably the city fathers had to put a ban in because a G-D fool hot shot racer boy cyclist without a lick of sense decided to take a lane on this road during rush hoursand back up traffic for miles in the rush hour rather than ride on the nearly empty MUP. Maybe the reason is similiar to the Fort Collins situation, maybe not. One thing for sure, no Philadelphia bike commuter is inconvenienced by such a ban. Since none would consider riding that road for pleasure or convenience.

DataJunkie

In denver: a large chunk of speer blvd and 1st ave. Plus, the 16th street mall except on Sundays.

However, speer blvd has a decent MUP running 20 ft below street level along a creek.

derath

In MD, any road over 50mph is banned. In addition there are numerous roadways that are banned. Usually section of otherwise ridable roads that become too large/fast and I guess are deemed unsafe for cyclists.

-D

joejack951

I believe a regular in the Commuting forum max-a-mill uses that MUP on his ride into Center City. I also believe he was hit by a van turning into one of the parking lots along the MUP at one of the many uncontrolled intersections. I'm not saying no issues could arise from riding in dense 40mph traffic, but that MUP has it's issues.

And your last statement is false if you are talking about using Kelly Drive at times other than morning rush hour (no experience there so I won't comment). I just previously stated that I when I lived in the area, I'd ride Kelly Drive during afternoon rush hour (and I can't imagine traffic would be any different between morning and afternoon but maybe it is) as it was safer IMO than using the MUP. Dodge enough dogs and children of oblivious parents and suddenly predictable traffic seems downright pleasureable.

ken cummings

There is a 2 lane bridge over the 405 in Irvine, CA that allows bikes on the roadway in one direction but not the other. The rule was enforced only once when city police waited for a lawyer who regularly rode over that bridge and they nailed him for riding the wrong way. And why you ask? Because he had been very hostile to the police outside of the court room. The local bike clubs had no problems there.

BearsPaw

How long ago did you live in Philadelphia? I ride that MUP at least once a day, at various hours, and it is generally fine for bicycling. The only time I've found it to be too crowded was during the daytime on weekends.

However, I will say that the stretch along the boathouses, which is not very long, is often crowded.

Also, if the Kelly side is too crowded, you can always take Martin Luther King (formerly West River Drive). That side of the river is never crowded.

I-Like-To-Bike

Exactly right. And most, if not all, cyclists with an ounce of intelligence can figure out how to safely cycle on that MUP with a few not very long sections with more than an occasional pedestrian here and there. Commuting to work/school/anywhere else and recreational cycling does not necessitate maximizing speed for every inch of the journey. Commuting/recreational cycling are NOT synonymous with training for the Tour de France.
The MUPs on both sides of the river were almost always near deserted for their entire length during weekday rush hours, especially in the morning. Anyone choosing to cycle on the crowded densely packed 40 mph River Drives in rush hour instead of the near deserted MUP or regular city street alternatives has issues (of the type Robert Hurst previously described). Or may be a primo example of a head case cyclist with a "training" ritual fetish trumping any value for personal safety.

Either that or - the EC™ Leader has spoken and the disciple must obey: Achtung!- Speed and Efficiency Über Alles! We are the Experienced High Mileage Road Cyclists™ and our "needs" must be catered to by all others, at all times, in all places, at whatever cost.

Note: The only thing predictable about the motorized traffic on the drives is that the drivers can't stay in one lane when negotiating through the curves at the Philadelphia version of high speed, 40 mph.

It should be doubly noted that ALL truck traffic is banned from the entire length of both River Drives, 24 hours a day, everyday. No trucks, just like Chicago's Lake Shore Drive, another road that at least one head case throws a fit about because he can't ride on it from his internet connection in Ohio.

half_bent

NE Ohio has to have some of the most bike unfriendly roads. Just as JRA and chip stated. There is one that I think takes the cake. In Avon Lake, Moore Rd it bicycles are not permitted on the rd, however there is a BIKE LANE on the road

chipcom 

Don't think I have tried Moore...but I hope the 'bike lane' is better than the one up on Lake. We have a funny definition of bike lanes here in NE Ohio, don't we?

joejack951

I rode on it quite a bit back in 2000-2002. Some days I would use West River Drive instead of Kelly Drive but either way, I never found Kelly Drive uncomfortable to ride on. And in response to ILTB, at the time I was riding a crappy MTB with platform pedals and knobby tires. I also thought 12 miles was an incredibly long bike ride. I still didn't want to crawl along the MUP dodging pedestrians. I would go ride after work sometime between 4-5pm most days.

"Generally fine for bicycling" obviously means very different things to different people on this forum (this is a general statement but I'm using your words).