St Charles County, proposed bicycle ban and bicycle ordinances - updated versions

Share the road
Share the road
At the public meeting about the proposed bicycle ban and other related bicycle ordinances in St Charles County, County Commissioner Joe Brazil introduced an updated version of the proposed ordinances.

The new draft of the ordinance is improved over previous versions in several ways:

  • It includes requirements for lights and brakes for bicycles, mirroring state law for those requirements
  • The requirement for the bicycle safety flag is removed
  • The permitting ordinance has been refined

This draft of the ordinance still has these serious problems:

  • The bicycle ban still restricts the freedom of movement of bicyclists in a way far greater than that found in any other county in the U.S., contradicts the Missouri Constitution's assignment of authority over access to state roads to the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, and will almost certainly be challenged strongly by MoDOT and overturned by the courts.

  • The requirement for bicyclists to ride no more than 20 inches from the white line contradicts state law in this area and, in addition, is an unsafe requirement for bicyclists, forcing them to travel closer to the edge of the road than is safe in many situations. This requirement is different than the current legal requirements in Missouri and in every adjoining county and city.  How will bicyclists entering the county be informed about this unusual requirement--by road signs?

  • The requirement for single file bicycling contradicts state law, which specifically allows bicyclists to ride abreast except when impeding other traffic.

  • The requirement for bicyclists to use mirrors is problematic for several reasons.  For some types of bicycles, mirrors are not particularly helpful; for others, mounting mirrors is problematic.  Mirrors are not required equipment in any other jurisdiction in the U.S.--so, for instance, cross country bicyclists who enter St Charles County often will not have a mirror when entering the county, and will have no realistic opportunity to purchase a mirror once they enter the county and learn of the requirement (and how will they be informed about this new and unique requirement--via road signs?) 

  • Requiring permits for bicycle groups as small as 20 is still an unrealistically small number.  Having the requirement set this low means that many informally organized groups will simply ignore the requirement.  If the number were set more realistically--50 or 100--it would apply to rides organized by and run by organizations or businesses, where compliance can realistically be achieved.

The good news is that county commissioners are really listening to input from the public and working to improve this bill.  The bad news is, there is still plenty more that needs to be improved.

 

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