Proposed St Charles bicycle bills--current text of proposals

The St Charles County Council has presented us with the full text of the proposed bills regarding bicycle equipment requirements and permits for group bicycle rides.  These bills were introduced in the county Council's September 27th, 2010, meeting.

The County Council plans to vote on the two bills in its next meeting on October 12th.

Each of these bills still has serious technical and practical problems that need to be addressed before the bills move forward.  MoBikeFed's analysis of the bills will be available soon.

Click below to download the original PDF files:

• Bill 3652 (Bicycle safety equipment and county bicycle map) 
• Bill 3651 (Bicycle event permits) 

Plain text of Bills 3652 and 3651 are below.  Please note that these plain text versions were created by an OCR process so may have scanning or formatting errors.

Bill No. 3652 - Bicycle Safety Equipment and County Bicycle Map

Requested by: Joe Brazil

Sponsored by: Joe Brazil

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING INFORMATIONAL ROUTES ON ST. CHARLES COUNTY ROADS FOR CYCLISTS, AND REGULATIONS CONCERNING BICYCLE SAFETY EQUIPMENT

WHEREAS, the St. Charles County Council desires to educate both cyclists and motorists about roadway safety and to make information about bicycle safety and regulations available to the public; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Charter of St. Charles County, Article 11, 52.529 the Council is empowered to "(e)xercise legislative power pertaining to public health and welfare, Police and traffic, building construction, and planning and zoning, in the part of the County outside incorporated Cities, Towns, and Villages, and on such other subjects as may be authorized by the Constitution or by applicable law; and

WHEREAS, after much discussion of the issue of bicycle and vehicle safety, the County Council finds that the public health and welfare would be benefitted by the establishment of an informational program available to cyclists concerning the characteristics of County roads and the adoption of requirements for certain safety equipment.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1.

The County of St. Charles hereby establishes the bicycle education and map program within the County Highway Department to apprise cyclists of certain characteristics of highways and roads in the unincorporated portion of St. Charles County. The designations and educational materials resulting from this ordinance are in no manner a recommendation that cyclists should ride these highways and roads nor are they intended to assure any cyclist of safety in riding the highways and roads.

Section 2. Definitions.

GREEN roads Highways and roads where the speed limits are under 50 miles an hour and heavy commercial weekday traffic, or farm implement traffic, is not expected to be present on a regular basis. Green roads may still have limited site distance, may lack shoulders or have intermittent or gravel shoulders.

ORANGE Roads Highways and roads where the speed limits are 50 miles an hour or more. Orange Roads are expected to have heavy commercial traffic and or regular farm implement traffic. Site distance will be generally better than highways or roads designated as Red but may have intermittent or seasonal (e.g., crops) site distance problems.

RED Roads Highways and roads where the speed limits are 50 miles an hour or more. Red roads chronically have limited site distance (hills, crops). Red roads will not have shoulders, or if there are shoulders they are gravel. Cyclists should expect that Red roads will have heavy commercial weekday traffic and/or farm implement traffic.

Section 3.

The Highway Department shall develop and post signage, and print and distribute maps through various means, such as the County website and to various organizations such as those whose mission includes trails, parks and promotion of active living, to reflect the above bicycle route information.

Section 4.

All cyclists riding their bicycles on red or orange roads in the unincorporated part of St. Charles County shall:

1. Be equipped with a mirror that allows them a view of the road behind them;

2. Equip their bicycle with a the following lights and/or reflectors as follows:

(A) Every bicycle when in use from sunset to sunrise or when there is not sufficient light to render discernible any person on the highway or street at a distance of four hundred (400) feet ahead, shall be equipped with the following:

(1) A lamp mounted on the front of either the bicycle or the operator that shall emit a white light visible fiom a distance of at least five hundred (500) feet to the front and 300 feet to the sides. A generator powered lamp, which emits light only when the bicycle is moving, may be used to meet this requirement;

(2) A red reflector on the rear of a type that shall be visible from all distances from one hundred feet to six hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle;

(3) A light emitting either flashing or steady red light visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear shall be used in addition to the reflector. If the red light performs as a reflector such that it is visible as specified in (2) above, it shall satisfy the requirement for a reflector.

(B) Additional lights and reflectors may be used in addition to those required under part (A) above except that red lights and reflectors shall not be used on the front of the bicycle nor shall white or colorless lights or reflectors be used on the rear of the bicycle.

Section 5.

Cyclists shall obey all traffic regulations unless otherwise set out in this ordinance or unless cycling in a permitted event as set forth in County ordinance. Failure to obey traffic laws and equipment requirements shall be punishable in the same manner as failures of motor vehicles.

Section 6.

Penalties. A violation of any provision of Sections 4 and 5 above of this ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

Section 7.

Enforcement and Prosecution. Enforcement of this ordinance shall be the responsibility of the Sheriffs

Department and prosecution may be by the Prosecuting Attorney or the County Counselor.

Section 8.

Publication of Ordinance.

Following passage and approval, this ordinance shall be published at least once in a legal publication or in a newspaper of general circulation in St. Charles County and posted in six (6) public places within St. Charles County.

Section 9.

Responsibility for Publication.

The County Registrar shall be responsible for publishing this ordinance in accordance with Section 8 of this ordinance. Payment to any publication or newspaper publishing this ordinance shall be from the appropriate line item.

Section 10. Effective Date.

This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon passage and approval, however any penalty provisions shall be effective on the thirty-first (31st) day after publication of this ordinance. 

 

Bill No. 3651 - Bicycle Event Permits Process

Requested by: Joe Brazil and Jerry Daugherty

Sponsored by: Joe Brazil and Jerry Daugherty

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PERMITTING PROCESS FOR BICYCLE EVENTS AND A PROCESS FOR ALL EVENTS REQUIRING ROAD CLOSURE

WHEREAS, the St. Charles County Council is concerned about bicycle and vehicle safety on roads in the county; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Charter of St. Charles County, Article II,§2.529 the Council is empowered to “(e)xercise legislative power pertaining to public health and welfare, Police and traffic, building construction, and planning and zoning, in the part of the County outside incorporated Cities, Towns, and Villages, and on such other subjects as may be authorized by the Constitution or by applicable law; and

WHEREAS, the County Council held three (3) public hearings onpermits for road closures on the following dates:September 7, 2010 (7 p.m. at the Community Club ofNew Melle), September 13, 2010 (7 p.m. County CouncilMeeting) and September 20, 2010 (6:30 p.m. TrinityLutheran Gymnasium); and

WHEREAS, among the comments received was a request for amultiple event permit.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. PERMITS FOR ORGANIZED CYCLING EVENTS.No event, contest, procession, or parade containing twenty-five (25) or more cyclists on any highway, roadway or street within a two hour window, or any number of riders and a chase/support vehicle, shall occupy or proceed along any highway, roadway or street in the unincorporated county except in accordance with a permit issued by the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department. Cyclists riding together on a road by chance and not as part of an organized event do not require a permit.

1. A. The Sheriff shall issue Single Event Permits only where the event organizers have presented amap of the route along with a safety plan that addresses expected traffic issues, including crowd control. Where the Sheriff, after consultation with the event sponsors, determines additional crowd control measures or road closure are necessary then the Sheriff shall notify the event organizers that such measures must be included in the safety plan. No permit is required when cyclists are riding together on a road by chance and not as part of an organized event.

B. The Sheriff shall issue an Annual Permit only where event organizers have presented a map of a route that will be followed four or more times within a calendar year, along with a list of dates for the proposed reoccurring rides, along with a safety plan that addresses expected traffic issues, including crowd control. Where the Sheriff, after consultation with the event sponsors, determines additional crowd control measures or road closure are necessary then the Sheriff shall notify the event organizers that such measures must be included in the safety plan. Any deviation from the identified route shall require a single event permit for that ride. If a ride is cancelled due to weather the organizers may establish an alternate date and notify the Sheriff of such date.

2. Should the event organizers propose, or the Sheriff determine it is necessary, to close any road(s) the event organizers shall make arrangements with the Sheriff’s Department for deputies to be on site to close the road(s).

3. A. The Sheriff shall charge no more than the actual cost of the permit for a Single Event Permit and for an Annual Permit.

B. The Sheriff shall charge the cost of deputy sheriff time to close a road at the actual cost for a deputy sheriff(s).

4. Whenever a road is to be closed a notice shall beplaced in a newspaper of general circulation in the County providing notice that a road is to be closed,the date and time of the closure and the route theevent will follow and the name of the organizationor group receiving the permit. For Single Event Permits, the notice shall appear at least one week prior to the closure and shall be requested to appearin the area of the paper containing road and traffic information. For Annual Permits, the notice shall appear at least one week prior to the first closure and shall provide a notice that the permit is for four or more rides on this route, and the dates of the additional rides and the notice shall be requested to appear in the area of the paper containing road and traffic information. The organization sponsoring the event shall be responsible for the cost of the notice, which amount shall be remitted to the Sheriff before the permit shall issue. The Registrar shall place the notices in the newspaper of general circulation on behalf of the Sheriff.

5. No permit shall be granted for a road closure less than fourteen calendar days from the date of the road closure.

6. Any event that initiates, terminates, or has a rest stop within the unincorporated area of the county shall provide for, and show in its safety plan, sufficient restrooms for the expected participants at the site of the initiation, termination or rest site.

Section 2. Events Requiring Road Closure.

All events, contests, processions, and parades requiring road closure and intending to occupy or proceed along any highway, roadway or street in the unincorporated county shall obtain a permit issued by the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department.

Section 3. Closing Without a Permit.

Closing a road without obtaining a permit is a violation of this ordinance subject to the penalties set forth in Section 4.

Section 4. Penalties.

A violation of any provision of this ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

Section 5. Enforcement and Prosecution.

Enforcement of this ordinance shall be the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Department and prosecution may be by the Prosecuting Attorney or the County Counselor.

Section 6. Publication of Ordinance.

Following passage and approval, this ordinance shall be published at least once in a legal publication or in a newspaper of general circulation in St. Charles County and posted in six (6) public places within St. Charles County.

Section 7. Responsibility for Publication.

The County Registrarshall be responsible for publishing this ordinance in accordance with Section 6 of this ordinance. Payment to any publication or newspaper publishing this ordinance shall be from the appropriate line item.

Section 8. Effective Date.

This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon passage and approval, however any penalty provisions shall be effective on the thirty-first (31st) day after publication of this ordinance.