Home > News > St. Charles County Bicycle ban tabled, but not dead

St. Charles County Bicycle ban tabled, but not dead

Submitted by Eric Rogers on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 7:25am

A St. Charles County proposal to ban bicycles from shoulderless highways around the Katy Trail town of Defiance was tabled at a County Council meeting last night, but will be reconsidered next month with the possible addition of more roads on the banned list.

Fox 2 St. Louis has a good report on the issue.

If you live, work, or ride in Defiance or southwestern St. Charles County, we need you to speak out against the bicycle ban. 

Email the County Council.

Learn more about the proposed ban.

Tags:

Comments

Submitted by Brent Hugh on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 6:58pm.
MoDOT has weighed in. They assert that they, and not the county, have the right to regulate these roads (which are state highways) and they will absolutely not be implementing any bicycle ban.
Submitted by Jack (not verified) on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 4:11pm.
If safety is the issue, St Charles and its leadership should definitely lower speed limits (typically exceeded), enforce existing laws regarding distracted driving, and improve DUI enforcement. These curvy-hilly 55 mph roads are more crowded than ever as the residential population and tourism has increased dramatically in recent years. Definitely add good shoulders but don't reduce the rights of one group (cyclists) to benefit the group who refuses to properly Share the Roads and create the largest risks.
Submitted by Joshua Rodgers (not verified) on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 11:44am.
I agree with Tom. Furthermore, this is an act of discrimination against one group. Is it possible for the federation to see what our rights are as tax payers? Surely we have access to lawyers who can help? More info on this topic can be found at stlbikes.com forums here: http://stlbiking.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=23157&view=getnewpost
Submitted by acline (not verified) on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 11:36am.
Does MoDOT have any say in this proposed ban?
Submitted by Tom Fleming (not verified) on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 9:57am.
The roads being targeted are narrow, winding, and hilly. They are treacherous for cars because of the growing population and the speed the cars typically try to travel. If St. Charles county wants to keep the speed limits currently posted on these roads, they need to build shoulders on these roads. This needs to be done without the issue of the rights of bicycle travelers considered. If the county is serious about safety on these roads, they should first lower the speed limit; and second, they should enforce these limits for the safety of all who travel the roads. Bicycles traveling on these roads is not the safety issue. Removing bicycles from these roads may remove an irritation for some of these drivers, but if safety is the intent, enforced reduction of the speeds on the roads should be the first action. If bicycle travel on these roads is limited, it will mean that I will spend less money in St. Charles county. The only time I go to St. Charles county is to ride my bicycle and visit businesses along the way. By limiting the places I can bicycle, they are further limiting the money I will spend there.
Submitted by John Buckley (not verified) on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 11:10am.
How about a ban on cell phone use while driving in St Charles County? When I am out on my bike you would not believe how many people you see doing this. This would have greater effect on safety than anything else IMHO. If the anti-bike folks are serious about improving SAFETY they should be willing to lay their cell phones aside while in the car.

Let us know what you think . . .

By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy.

Note: All comments are moderated before being posted to the site. All links include a rel="nofollow" tag. All IP addresses are logged.