Fallout from Lawson, MO, "no bicycle zone" conviction

Lawson, MO, city officials have been inundated with mail and email from across the country after national media outlets picked up on the story that a bicyclist with MS had been ticketed for pushing a bicycle in a "no bicycle zone" in Lawson.

Here is some of the fallout.

Sun-News of the Northland detailed the trial, including this tidbit:

The charge facing Chasteen proved so weak that in December Lawson City Prosecutor Tom McGiffin, now a former prosecutor, had refused to take the case into court.

"It was not the type of case that I thought needed to be prosecuted," McGiffin says later. "The ordinance seemed to apply to other individuals ... to hold parents responsible for their kids maybe riding their bikes or causing disturbances on the main street."

The case should have gone to trial last month, but because McGiffin refused to prosecute, the court delayed the case. In the meantime, city leaders canned McGiffin.

KCStar columnist Mike Hendricks says: "Well, after six months, the saga ended this week. Chasteen couldn't convince Lawson leaders their law was unfair. Instead, a city judge fined him $75, plus court costs. Says Ed about any future plans to return to his favorite Lawson cafe on two wheels: 'More friendly places beckon.'"

KMBC-TV also had a followup piece.

For cyclists wanting to see this law changed, probably the most effective thing right now would be to write or fax Lawson Mayor George Green:

George Green, Mayor
City of Lawson
PO Box 185
Lawson, MO 64062
Phone: 816-580-3217
Fax: 816-296-4013