ATL Collumns Drive Bike Lane Commision meeting Tues Night

Triathlon Forum
1

ok, guilty of not knowing what is going on - I have been living under a rock…but apparently there is a Cobb county meeting Tues night (the final one) about the bike lane being in jeopardy? Gotta love Cobb County.

Please attend (I can’t it is too late notice for me to change my schedule of work) if you live in ATL or at least send an email/phone call to the commisioners. I don’t want to lose that precious lane.

Before anyone jumps on this about staying in the shoulder, if you haven’t seen Collumns drive, you wouldn’t know it is virtually impossible to stay in the shoulder 100% of the time, and it is one of the few safe places in ATL to ride your bike.
------------------ from triatlanta email:
Please remember Tuesday evening is the final Cobb Commission meeting
concerning the restrictive ordinances on Columns Drive, which
effectively takes away some of our access to the road. Please attend!
We need a show of force to send a signal that we will not tolerate
having our access to public roads taken away from us. Sure, you could
have more listening to Scott Stapp CDs, watching a Ben Afflack and
Jennifer Lopez movie, or having a root canal, however we need you to
take this one night and support your fellow cyclists. We need to let
the Cobb Commissioners that we are watching how they vote, and we will
hold them responsible the next time they are up for election. (Emails
phone and fax numbers follow, and there is time for all.)

If we let this restriction be adapted, which Georgia State law clearly
states they cannot do without exclusive bike lanes in place, they will
surely follow with more. While we all want to allow motorists to be
able to pass us while cycling, which usually means dropping to single
file for a moment, we do not want to lose two abreast riding which
Georgia laws allows, or the right to take the lane to avoid obstacles
or to get ready for a turn.

As it stands now many motorists believe that we are not allowed on the
roadway. Starting to publicize that we have to be single file or in
the bike lane in any area will surely lead to more motorists believing
that we are not allowed to be on the road, and will surely lead to
more unsafe conditions. How many times have you been buzzed by a car
with somebody yelling “Get off the road,” if not had something thrown
at you. Now the terrorists,. .er motorists will feel more emboldened
to continue with this behavior. Two cyclists were recently pulled over
intown during a ride by the police with full lights and sirens. The
officer informed them that they were not allowed to ride two abrest,
took their IDs, and went back to his car to write tickets. Evidently
somebody on the radio informed him that they could ride two abreast.
The police were not even familiar with the law.

An enforced uniform code throughout the state, which currently does
stand, is the safest for cyclists. We just need to educate the
citizens and police on the law, enforce it along with other traffic
laws, and us courtesy and common sense around motorists. A patchwork
of different laws on various streets and counties will only lead to
confusion, which will be taken out on cyclists.

Following is a letter sent out by Dennis Hoffarth of the Atlanta
Bicycle Campaign. They are starting to get involved because they
understand the importance of protecting our access to the roads. I
support them in all they do to help us cyclists and urge you to read
his letter and visit his website for more information on his
organization. Joining and donating to his group is an excellent idea
to help protect cyclist’s rights in Georgia.

Please get involved! Tuesday evening can be very important. The J-Lo
movie can wait!

Tim Carroll
bikecobb.blogspot.com

Dear ABC Members,

This is to ask you to take further action regarding proposed
restrictions on bicycling on Columns Drive in Cobb County.
Commissioner Joe Thompson got an earful from cyclists and other Cobb
residents when he proposed a “no cruising” ordinance for this popular
bicycling road. He appears to have dropped that idea, and picked up
other ideas for restricting bicycle use. The most restrictive of these
is the requirement that bicyclists be restricted to use of the
shoulder area, and NOT the main travel lane.

I recommend that the County focus on enforcing existing state law
which already requires cyclists to keep as far to the right as
practicable (meaning in the shoulder area) UNLESS there are good
reasons to move to the left. The law allows, for instance, for
cyclists to move left to make a left turn and to avoid obstacles in
the roadway. The full reading of the law is:

Riding on roadways and bicycle paths (40-26-294)

a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as
near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, except when
turning left or avoiding hazards to safe cycling, when the lane is too
narrow to share safely with a motor vehicle, when traveling at the
same speed as traffic, or while exercising due care when passing a
standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction, provided,
however, that every person operating a bicycle away from the right
side of the roadway shall exercise reasonable care and shall give due
consideration to the other applicable rules of the road. As used in
this subsection, the term “hazards to safe cycling” includes, but is
not limited to, surface debris, rough pavement, drain grates which are
parallel to the side of the roadway, parked or stopped vehicles,
potentially opening car doors, or any other objects which threaten the
safety of a person operating a bicycle.

There are good reasons for the law as it now stands, and rightly
allows them to move out of the shoulder when staying in the shoulder
would result in a collision course with a pedestrian - i.e. a hazard
to safe cycling. Requiring cyclists to stay in the shoulder at ALL
times as proposed in the County legislation would be contrary to safe
cycling, so I hope we do not end up with a compromise on that.

Any local restrictions on bicycling that go beyond state law will set
a dangerous precedent, sure to be adopted by other counties and cities
in metro Atlanta that may choose to restrict bicycling rather that
invest in better bicycle accommodations.

If you live in Cobb, please write to your County Commissioner and copy
the other commissioners with your message. Ask them to table any
legislation that further restricts bicycle use beyond state law.

If you have friends or relatives in Cobb, please ask them to write.
Please see contact info and map below.

The issue is expected to be voted on at the next County Commission
meeting on February 27 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the
County Courthouse at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta.

Samuel S. Olens
County Wide Commissioner/ Chairman
100 Cherokee Street
Marietta, GA 30090-9679
(770) 528-3300
(770) 528-2606 fax
solens@cobbcounty.org

Tim Lee
District 3 Commissioner
100 Cherokee Street
Marietta, GA 30090-9679
(770) 528-3318
(770) 528-2606 fax
tlee@cobbcounty.org

Joe L. Thompson
District 2 Commissioner
100 Cherokee Street
Marietta, GA 30090-9679
(770) 528-3316
(770) 528-2606 fax
jthompson@cobbcounty.org

Annette Kesting
District 4 Commissioner
100 Cherokee Street
Marietta, GA 30090-9679
(770) 528-3312
(770) 528-2606 fax
annette.kesting@cobbcounty.org

Helen Goreham
District 1 Commissioner
100 Cherokee Street
Marietta, GA 30090-9679
(770) 528-3313
(770) 528-2606 fax
hgoreham@cobbcounty.org

2

I think Joe Thompson is nothing but trouble, but this particular proposal is not outlandish. I love cycling, but I have to admit, the number of people I see, especially on Columns who seem to be confused about what rights they have and how much they can utilize those rights is ridiculous. There is no need to suck up the whole lane when you’re doing 15 mph. I’m sorry. Riding single file should be the norm unless you’re on a road where there is little to no traffic.

Now it pisses me off when drivers are rude, cut me off, or try and rub up against me, etc. But for the same reasons they are wrong, so are some of our fellow cyclists/runners who think that to make a point they can suck up the whole road. The idea of the laws is to allow everyone to use it. When drivers aren’t following the rules, put in a formal complaint, call the police, do something. Over time it will be addressed. But continually hogging lanes or riding next to your buddy to prove a point is only going to cause you to get shut down. Drivers out number cyclists when the votes come around, so if we make it an us or them proposal…them is gonna win.

3

Actually, as a Columns Resident and cyclist, let me say that there are few cyclists who “hog the lane.” Almost all cyclists do allow cars to pass. I rarely see what you describe happen. I do see people riding along chatting side-by-side, who either stay in the pedestrian/bike lane or who go single file to allow cars to pass. There are lots of groups, TNT and various charity groups, that dumps hundreds of runners at a time on the road that run 3 abreast using the pedestrian/bike lane and causing trouble. They also dump groups of cyclists on the road at once who try to ride together. This should be addressed, but not by allowing the county to pass laws restricting access. Remember- I drive, run or ride up and down that road on a daily basis. I probably spend way more time on it than you do. I just do not see what you are seeing.

Suggesting calling a cop because a motorist broke the law is the most moronic thing I have ever heard. You will be ignored and it will never be addressed. Cops do not care about cyclists, ever. Motorists run over them in Gwinnett and then cops blame the cyclists.

You should read the issues about the cyclist’s access to roads and how they can be affected before deciding it is okay to start passing ordinances allow restrictions. This is not about demanding we are allowed to ride two abreast at all times. It is about protecting our access. Once local authorities they start taking it away, which the Georgia law was written to prevent, they can continue to restrict access. Would you be okay with the county preventing you from cycling in their communities because they think cycling is causing problems? Man, they could gets lots of votes by just screwing you over and saying you could no longer ride there! Lets let the majority have tyranny over the minority! This fight is also about making sure motorists know we have the right to be there so it cuts down on cyclists being buzzed and having stuff thrown at them.

Remember this was originally a no cruising ordinance which would have prevented you from riding more than one loop there. It has been cyclists fighting that prevented the ordinance. The homeowners want to close down the parking lots at the end of columns, preventing access to the public park there. I guess you would be for allowing them to do those things as well?

4

I couldn’t agree more about the large groups. Clearly as someone who lives there you see it more than I would, but I’ve seen enough to know that if I was driving that every day I’d get pretty tired of it pretty quickly.

You’re comments about the police are juvenile though. First off just because some people get screwed over in another county it doesn’t mean that all police everywhere don’t care about cyclists. I think the police suffer from the same problem that the general public does in the sense that many of them don’t realize the rights that cyclists do have, but they don’t blatantly watch cars run over cyclists all day and then scold the bleeding guy on the ground for being somewhere other than on his trainer.

Like I said, I think the original ordinance was asinine, but that doesn’t mean the revised one is also asinine. Saying that people can’t do loops on Columns is ridiculous. Saying they should stay single file the majority of the time is logical, it leaves the largest area of the road open for cars and bikes to use.

5

“You’re comments about the police are juvenile though.”

Sadly, they are not. Police could not care about cyclists. In the 14 years I have cycled in the greater Atlanta area, I have seen this in every county. We have had guns pulled on us in Fulton. We stopped the guy and the police came. They said if he did not say “I am going to kill you,” while pointing the gun at us, he did nothing wrong. Gwinnett police responded to an accident where a cyclist was run down from behind. They found it to be his and his cycling partner’s fault. If the guy had hit a car from behind, he would have at least got ticket. Cycling by Big Canoe a friend was hit in the face by a bottle last week. As a former law officer he stopped at the local police precinct to report it, and he could give a really good description of the vehicle. The police said there was nothing they could do. I have never seen police do anything to a driver over a cyclist. Sure there are a few police who are cyclists, but not many. The police do not want to be bothered by anything other than “the big 7.” All this is anecdotal, but please tell me when the police rushed out and ticketed a driver because he was buzzing a cyclist or throwing crap at him.

Again, Georgia law clearly gives us access to the road. Local authority can only be exercised if there is a dedicated and exclusive bike lane. This prevents us from being legislated off the roads by counties, town and cities. If you feel the uniform code for the state should be single file, contact your state representatives. The Georgia code needs to be uniform for safety and access reasons. Any local legislation that is permitted that allows restrictions on our access will only lead to more restrictions, until you may not be able to ride. The majority of the population does not want you there. So again, using your reasoning, they should be able to legislate you off the road because you annoy them?

You are looking at the small picture. You might want to think of cyclists in general rather than only your needs.

“Saying they should stay single file the majority of the time is logical, it leaves the largest area of the road open for cars and bikes to use.”

Clueless! The ordinance does not say the “majority of the time.” It does not say when traffic is there. It says “all the time,” eroding our access. Most cyclists are more than happy to allow traffic to pass. That is not the issue.

You have not thought or researched this issue at all, have you? You are just posting on you very limited view and very limited knowledge, aren’t you? You don’t have a clue as to why the original Georgia law was passed, do you? Lack of education is dangerous.

6

I agree totally…