Back in 2010, the city of Olathe, Kansas added some very nice bike lanes to 127th Street, between Mur-Len Road and Black Bob Road, with another mile of bike lanes, between Black Bob Road and Pflumm Road, due to be built in 2014.

The good news is, the schedule has been accelerated, with work on the project for the next mile slated to begin this year.

The bad news is, Olathe has dropped the bike lanes from the design. Sort of.

The new design calls for a “shoulder” to be striped along each side of the roadway, with 2 feet of pavement to the right of the outer stripe, along with a foot-and-a-half of gutter pan.

That leaves the gutter seam — the joint between the roadway surface and the concrete curb — almost exactly in the center of the shoulder.

This shoulder area does not meet national standards for bike lanes, and Olathe is not planning to designate the area as a bike lane, through either on-pavement symbols, or signage.

But the implication is pretty clear: That’s where bicyclists will be expected to ride.

You can bet that if cyclists rightly avoid this hazardous area, and ride in the shared-traffic lane, that someone will come along and yell “Get in the bike lane!”

If it looks like a bike lane, motorists are going to expect bicyclists to ride there, regardless of whether or not it’s an “official” bike lane…

How Bad Can It Be?

Olathe promises to maintain the gutter seam so that it does not deteriorate and become a hazard, but I thought it would be enlightening to see how the city has maintained other gutter seams on its streets:

This lovely gutter seam is on (ironically) 127th Street, in the exact same area where the new roadway will be constructed.

Would you feel comfortable riding your bicycle inches from this gutter seam? Do you consider this safe?

This is an example of how Olathe currently maintains its streets — should we expect better on the new roadway?

These examples are from Ridgeview Road in Olathe. It is in a designated bike lane, and over time the gutter seam has deteriorated and become hazardous. Olathe has attempted to patch the holes, without much success. But, since the bike lane is at least 4 feet in width beyond the gutter seam, it’s not nearly the danger it would be if the “bike lane” were only 2 feet wide.

However, if Olathe takes this level of care in existing bike lane gutter seams, why should we expect the new “bike lanes” to be any better maintained?

And finally, here’s another example of a gutter seam in a designated bike lane, this one on 143rd Street in Olathe.

The widening crack is a perfect wheel-catcher. Surprised no one has been injured yet.

Why Is This Important?

127th Street is one of the few east-west arterial roads in the area that are still reasonably bike-friendly. 111th, 119th, 135th, and 151st are high-speed roads that carry heavy traffic. 143rd is the nearest road with bike lanes along part of its length, but that is two miles away, a long detour for bicycle commuters to be forced to take every day.

127th Street already has bike lanes on most of its length in Olathe, and when the new 127th Street bridge over I-35 opened a few years ago, the city made a big show of its bicycle-friendly features. And cyclists have responded, making 127th Street a well-used east-west bike route, at least as far as BlackBob Road, where it becomes a less-friendly two-lane road.

This mile of road between BlackBob and Pflumm could become another popular bike route, connecting to hundreds of homes, as well as to Olathe East High School, and beyond that, to the University of Kansas Edwards Campus.

Dropping the bike lanes on this new section of road way will either push cyclists onto more-dangerous sidepaths, or convince them to leave their bikes at home and take their cars, to contribute to ever-worsening congestion, noise pollution, and air pollution.

What Can Be Done?

Full, standard-width bike lanes had been promised to the public when the city presented the project to the community several years ago. Now they’ve reneged on that promise, and their attempted compromise has created a potentially dangerous situation.

BikeWalkKC has taken up the cause, and they have a page on their site, Support Bike Lanes on 127th Street, where you can compose an email message to Olathe officials.

There is also an Olathe Complete Streets Forum coming up on February 6th, 6:30pm at the Olathe Public Library, 12990 S. Black Bob Rd.:

Would you like safer and more accessible places to walk and bicycle in Olathe?How about more options for getting to work, school, church, or the store? If you live, work, or play in Olathe, please join us for an open discussion about making the city even better for walking and bicycling.

This is a great opportunity to not only tell the city how important Complete Streets are to you, but how you feel about the proposed design of 127th Street, why real bike lanes are needed, and why the currently design is not only inadequate, but dangerous for cyclists.

You can learn more about the 127th Street Project at improve127th.com and the City of Olathe.

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Here is the text of the ordinance, as approved by the council on September 15th, 2011:

ORDINANCE NO. ___

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 14-209 OF CHAPTER XIV OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF DE SOTO, KANSAS TO REPEAL THE PROHIBITION AGAINST NON-MOTORIZED VEHICLES USING 83rd STREET FROM KILL CREEK ROAD TO THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF THE CITY

WHEREAS, the Governing Body finds and determines that, despite a previous Governing Body’s conclusion that use of the portion of 83rd Street from Kill Creek Road to the City’s eastern boundary is unsafe for non-motorized vehicle traflic, including bicycles, and passage of a prohibition against such use, there remain bicycle riders who desire to ride on such street. and do, in fact, ride on the street: and

WHEREAS, the Governing Body finds and determines that enforcement of the prohibition against non-motorized vehicles using 83rd Street from Kill Creek Road to the City’s eastern boundary has been difficult and does not appear to have been heeded by many bicycle riders; and

WHEREAS, the Governing Body believes it is appropriate to allow users of non-motorized vehicles, who desire to ride on 83rd Street from Kill Creek Road to the City’s eastern boundary, to make their own decision on whether to use said street.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY
OF DE SOTO, KANSAS:

SECTION 1: Section 14-209 of Chapter XIV of the City Code is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2: Ordinance No. 1072, and any amendments thereto, are hereby
repealed.

SECTION 3: This Ordinance shall become effective after its passage, approval and
publication once in the City’s official paper.

An alternate ordinance, which would have restricted bicycles to the right-most three feet of pavement, required that bicycles remain single-file, was not enacted.

City Council President Rick Walker, along with Council Members Randy Johnson, John Krudwig, and Lori Murdock voted to lift the ban. Council Member Ron McDaniel voted to retain the ban.

Members of the public, including Johnson County Bicycle Club former President Mark Scrivner, JCBC Advocacy Chair Doug Polson, KanBikeWalk president Dale Crawford, Randy Rasa of Kansas Cyclist, and former council member Mitra Templin, spoke in favor of the ordinance.

One former Council Member (sorry, didn’t catch his name), who was part of the council when the ban was originally enacted, spoke against the ordinance.

The council did not discuss the logistics of removing the “Non Motorized Vehicles Prohibited” signage, but presumably this will be carried out by the city’s public works department,

Not sure when the ordinance will be published, which is the final step to making it official…

Background on the issue here.

Congratulations and thanks to all who worked for so long (over 10 years!) to repeal the De Soto Bike Ban.

If you’re a local citizen, or appreciative of the council’s vote, a quick note of thanks to the council members would be appropriate. Their email addresses can be found at desotoks.us.

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The 3-foot provision requires motorists to maintain a minimum 3-foot distance when passing a bicyclist, and the “dead red” provision allows bicycles and motorcycles to proceed with caution through red lights that they are unable to trigger.

Here is the relevant portion of the bill related to 3-foot passing:

K.S.A. 8-1516 is hereby amended to read as follows: 8-1516. The following rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles and bicycles proceeding in the same direction, subject to those limitations, exceptions and special rules hereinafter stated:

(a) The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.

(b) Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on audible signal and shall not increase the speed of his or her vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.

(c) (1) The driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a distance of not less than three feet and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.

(2) The driver of a vehicle may pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction in a no-passing zone with the duty to execute the pass only when it is safe to do so.

With passage of the law, Kansas joins 16 other states that also require a safe-passing distance of at least 3 feet (including our neighbors in Arkansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma).

Here is the relevant portion of the bill related to “dead red”:

K.S.A. 8-1508 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(4) The driver of a motorcycle or a person riding a bicycle facing any steady red signal, which fails to change to a green light within a reasonable period of time because of a signal malfunction or because the signal has failed to detect the arrival of the motorcycle or bicycle because of its size or weight, shall have the right to proceed subject to the rules stated herein. After stopping, the driver or rider shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in or near the intersection or approaching on a roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time such driver or rider is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways. Such motorcycle or bicycle traffic shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection.

At least nine other states have already adopted dead red bills (though some of them apply only to motorcycles, not bicycles).

You can read the full text of the bill, as signed by the Governor on Wednesday, 13 April 2011, here.

Congratulations to all who worked so long and hard to make this happen, especially Alan Apel and Bill Lucero of the Kaw Valley Bicycle Club.

And thanks to you, the cyclists of Kansas, for contacting your legislators and urging them to pass this bill.

Together, we can do amazing things!

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No fooling.

On Friday, just before breaking for a three-week holiday following a stressful and contentious budget debate, the members of the House and Senate voted to concur with a conference committee report on HB2192.

The House vote was 107-13. The Senate vote was 23-14.

In the final version of the bill, the bicycle provisions apparently garnered little attention. The controversy was reserved for the provision which would allow the Kansas secretary of transportation to raise the speed limit up to 75 MPH on divided, four-lane highways, which could apply to over 1000 miles of roadway, mostly interstates and about 10 percent of the total highway miles in Kansas.

In a way, it would have been nice to have the 3-foot passing provision fully debated in both chambers, because raising public awareness about the problem of unsafe passing is a big part of the value of the law. On the other hand, having it slide through the legislature unmolested has value as well.

In the end, making 3-foot minimum passing distance Kansas law is the most important thing.

To do that, the bill needs the governor’s signature. If you’d like to send a short message of support to Gov. Brownback at governor@ks.gov, or call his office at 877-579-6757.

According to Kansas.com, “The measure goes next to Gov. Sam Brownback. He hasn’t publicly taken a position on it, and his spokeswoman said only that he’d study it carefully. If he signs it, the changes will take effect July 1.”

Here is the relevant bicycle-related text in the bill:

Section 1. K.S.A. 8-1508 (4) The driver of a motorcycle or a person riding a bicycle facing any steady red signal, which fails to change to a green light within a reasonable period of time because of a signal malfunction or because the signal has failed to detect the arrival of the motorcycle or bicycle because of its size or weight, shall have the right to proceed subject to the rules stated herein. After stopping, the driver or rider shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in or near the intersection or approaching on a roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time such driver or rider is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways. Such motorcycle or bicycle traffic shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection.

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 8-1516 (c) (1) The driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a distance of not less than three feet and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.
(2) The driver of a vehicle may pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction in a no-passing zone with the duty to execute the pass only when it is safe to do so.

You can read more about Kansas House Bill 2192 here and read the full text of the bill here.

Here’s how CJOnline describes the bill:

The bill also allows motorcycles and bicycles to go through a red light if it has failed to change to green within a reasonable period. The cyclists still must obey all other traffic laws governing right of way.

ABATE of Kansas proposed the “dead red” provisions of the bill for motorcycles, and the House Transportation Committee added bicycles. Motorcycle riders testified during legislative hearings that they occasionally become backed up at red lights because some cycles aren’t heavy enough, or don’t have enough metal mass, to trip sensors that tell the light when to change from red to green.

Bicyclists’ safety came into play in another section of the bill that requires vehicles overtaking bicycles to pass on the left no less than 3 feet from the bicycle. The law allows vehicles to pass bicycles in a no-passing zone only when it is safe to do so.

Preliminary coverage from around the state:

• Lawrence Journal-World: Lawmakers approve bill boosting speed limit on some Kansas highways to 75
• Topeka Capital-Journal: Higher speed limit on fast track
• Wichita Eagle: Kansas lawmakers vote to increase speed limit

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News from Bill Lucero, Lobbyist with the Kaw Valley Bicycle Club:

A Conference Committee composed of the Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and Ranking minority members of both chambers hammered out a compromise proposal this afternoon which includes the proposed 3 foot clearance a motorist would be required to provide when passing a cyclist. Two meetings were held today, attended by KVBC’s Bill Lucero and Alan Apel, in order for Legislative staff to determine the impact that would result if municipalities were barred from charging additional Court costs when motorists were stopped for not wearing a seatbelt.

Eventually a provision was added back into the original House Bill 2192 prohibiting municipalities from charging such Court costs. A second provision allowing vehicles to drive 75 mph on certain limited access highways was also added. Thus, as House Transportation Chairman Gary Hayzlett (R- Lakin) stated, we now have a Transportation Omnibus Bill with the new 2 provisions contained with the “Dead Red” and 3 foot distance proposals. Hayzlett noted that whenever legislation is compounded, “you gain a few votes and you lose a few”, thus the bill could be a crap shoot in either chamber.

The Bill now goes back to the House for concurrence or rejection of the Committee report. Senate Transportation Chairman Dwayne Umbarger (R- Thayer)- who championed the 3 foot provision- indicated that he believed the current revised Bill should advance but did not speculate what might happen if other modifications were made to the Bill. At this time all bicyclists are encouraged to contact their respective Senators and Representatives, urging them to support the 3 foot provision in House Bill 2192.

You can read more about Kansas House Bill 2192 here.

The original 3-foot passing bill (HB2174) was narrowly defeated by a 55-59 vote in late February, but was subsequently amended (along with the Dead Red bill) to a related proposal, which was then overwhelmingly approved by the Kansas Senate 36-2.

After Senate approval, the House “Nonconcurred with amendments” on HB2192, which meant that a Conference Committee was convened to work out the differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.

The committee’s work is now done, so the bill goes back to the House for another vote. That’s where we are now.

Here is a sample letter you can use to contact your legislator:

Dear (Sen. or Rep.) ____________

As your constituent and a Kansas bicyclist, I respectfully ask you to vote YES on HB 2192 when it comes to a vote on the floor. This bill will greatly improve the safety of bicyclists across the entire state, making it safer for my family and I to bicycle to work, around ___ (insert your city/county name) ___ and around the State of Kansas.

Sincerely,
First & Last Name
Your Address
Your City, Kansas Your Zip Code

Just copy and paste the text above, substituting the legislator’s name, as well as your name and address. Feel free to personalize the message as you deem appropriate, but please be polite and respectful.

You can find your legislator’s email address and phone number from the House Roster and Senate Roster.

If you’re not sure who your legislators are, you can use the Find Your Legislator tool.

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House Bill 2192 as amended by the Senate Transportation Committee was approved in the Senate by the Committee of the Whole (preliminary action) without opposition or amendment Wednesday, 16 March 2011. Thus, the “dead red” and 3 feet portions remain intact with favorable final action expected by the same body tomorrow afternoon (17 March 2011), resulting in the bill being sent back to the House and possibly a Conference Committee between the two chambers.

Of immediate importance is for all cyclists to contact their individual Representative and request that House Bill 2192 as amended by the Senate Transportation Committee be accepted by the House of Representatives. Please recall that our original 3 feet proposal was defeated in the House on a 55-59 procedural vote, despite no hearing being held on the House side.

Therefore, it is imperative that House members hear from Bicyclists around the state in support of this measure. Please distribute this notice to all cyclists in the state urging passage of this bill. Remember, we do this not just for the safety of ourselves, but for that of our children and grandchildren as well.

Bill Lucero
Lobbyist
Kaw Valley Bike Club

You can read more about Kansas House Bill 2192 here.

Here is a sample letter you can use to contact your Representative:

Dear Rep. ____________

As your constituent and a Kansas bicyclist, I respectfully ask you to vote YES on HB 2192 when it comes to a vote on the House floor. This bill will greatly improve the safety of bicyclists across the entire state, making it safer for my family and I to bicycle to work, around _ _ (insert your city/county name) _________ and around the State of Kansas.

Sincerely,
First & Last Name
Your Address
Your City, Kansas Your Zip Code

Just copy and paste the text above, substituting the Representative’s name, as well as your name and address.

You can find your Representative’s email address and phone number from the House Roster.

If you’re not sure who your Representative is, you can use the Find Your Legislator tool.

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The legislation, Kansas House Bill HB2192, originally dealt with seat belt regulations, but was modified by the Senate Transportation Committee, which dropped the seat belt provisions, and added the contents of House Bill 2058 (HB2058), “Establishing conditions when motorcylists may proceed through red traffic signals” (i.e. the Dead Red bill) and House Bill 2174 (HB2174), “Duty of motorists to maintain 3 foot distance when passing bicyclists”.

Bicyclists attended the Senate Transportation Committee on March 12th in support of the amendment (as related by the Kaw Valley Bicycle Club:

Kaw Valley Bicycle Club lobbyist Bill Lucero testified in favor of amending HB 2192 with HB 2174 (the 3 foot clearance motorists must provide when passing a bicycle). Lucero introduced Michelle Roberts, daughter of former cyclist Tim Roberts who was struck by a car and killed last Sept. 12 outside Topeka. Lucero also endorsed the “dead red” provision in HB 2192. Alan Apel of KVBC then spoke in favor of amending the bill with the 3′ provision. (Please see PDF of testimony). No one opposed the amendment process.

You can read the full text of the resulting bill here.

Here is a message from KanBikeWalk:

The original 3’ passing clearance of bicyclists’ bill and the ‘dead red’ bill were both rolled into HB 2192, the seatbelt safety bill, and approved by the KS Senate Transportation Committee today, March 15. HB 2192 now goes to the Senate floor for a recorded vote. It is NOW time to contact your State Senator to ask their support for this bill making bicycling safer in Kansas.

Again, be very clear you want them to vote for HB 2192 and why. The why can be as simple as to make roads safer for bicyclists, motorcyclists and motorists or you can further explain your support for safer roads in Kansas by codifying the recommendations in the Driving Manual’s for motorists to safely pass bicyclists and discouraging dangerous driving practices and to remedy inconsistent enforcement regarding non-responsive traffic signals and clarifying the expected response of bicyclists and motorcyclists.

How you contact your Senator is not as important as making sure you do. This is your opportunity to make a statement for your safety and the safety of those you bicycle with. This will take you less than 5 minutes, but the effort may make bicycling in Kansas safer for years to come.

Here is the sample letter provided:

Dear Senator ____________

The Senate Transportation Committee has wisely approved HB 2192, which further defines seatbelt regulations, codifies the Driving Manual’s recommendations regarding the minimum passing clearance of bicyclists by motorists and clarifies the procedures for bicyclist’s and motorcyclist’s proper reaction when encountering a non-responsive traffic signal for law enforcement and roadway users alike.

As your constituent and a Kansas bicyclist, I respectfully ask you to vote YES on HB 2192 when it comes to a vote on the Senate floor. This bill will greatly improve the safety of bicyclists across the entire state, making it safer for my family and I to bicycle to work, around _ _ (insert your city/county name) _________ and around the State of Kansas.

Sincerely,
First & Last Name
Your Address
Your City, Kansas Your Zip Code

Just copy and paste the text above, substituting the Senator’s name, as well as your name and address.

You can find your Senator’s email address and phone number from the Senate Roster.

If you’re not sure who your senator is, you can use the Find Your Legislator tool.

Your communication carries the most weight with your own senator, but feel free to contact senators from other districts where you may be employed, do business, have family, travel, or ride. Every message does make a difference.

According to Kaw Valley Bicycle Club president Heath Glenn:

The next step will be a recorded vote in the Senate transportation committee and once approved will go to the Senate floor. We look for this to occur fairly quickly.

If the bill is approved by the Senate, it will go back to the House for consideration.

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In previous years, Kansas has struggled to send even one delegate to the summit, but in 2011, there are at least five Kansas Cyclists headed to Washington to advocate for bicycling to our Senators and Representatives:

• Dale Crawford, Olathe, President of KanBikeWalk
• Jeff Koenig, Manhattan, of Big Poppi Bicycle Co.
• Doug Polson, Overland Park, Advocacy Chair for the Johnson County Bicycle Club
• Mark Rainey, Overland Park, Vice President of KanBikeWalk
• Michael Ruder, Olathe, Second Vice President of the Kansas City Bicycle Club

Last year, Doug was the only person from Kansas to attend the summit. Here are some of Doug’s thoughts about the experience (from the March 2010 JCBC newsletter):

Building an Advocacy Tradition

First let me paint the picture the situation for Kansas. States like California had like 15 or 20 delegates. Even our neighbor, Missouri had six. I was the only one from Kansas.

Here’s my take: Kansas is in the beginning stages of bicycle advocacy and there isn’t any extra money this year. We need a concerted continual effort including lots of emails to our elected congressmen and this includes the state legislature as well. I don’t know if they bought my “I represent thousands of bicyclists” rap. It would be more effective if there were thousands of emails, letters and visits to back me up. As I kept repeating to myself all week “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”. At least Kansas was there and she said her piece.

Well done, Doug. Hopefully this year’s larger showing can help to make a difference.

The theme for this year’s event is “Acting on a Simple Solution”:

There are more people riding bikes than ever. Yet half of all U.S. trips are three miles or less, and more than 90 percent are made by car. The National Bike Summit has improved bicycle-friendliness and livability in many communities, but the need and opportunity to improve physical activity, safety and livability in the U.S., while reducing congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on oil – remains greater today than a decade ago.

These issues seem difficult to solve but the answer is simple. The answer is the bicycle. Now is the time to ask Congress to make strategic transportation investments that foster healthy people and healthy communities. Join us March 8-10 in Washington, D.C. to act on a simple solution – the bicycle.

Thanks to all the advocates for investing your time (and personal funds) to work for improved bicycling conditions on the local, state, and national levels. We appreciate it!

Let us know how we can help.

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The following note is from Bill Lucero, the lobbyist for the Kaw Valley Bike Club, explaining the situation:

Despite a narrow loss in the House of Representatives last week, Kaw Valley Bike Club lobbyists are guardedly optimistic about resurrecting a 3 foot statute in the Kansas Senate. Efforts are under way to amend a Uniform Seat Belt proposal (HB 2192 currently before the Senate Transportation Committee) to incorporate language from House Bill 2174 that would require motorists to yield three feet when passing a bicyclist.

Already incorporated into the seat belt bill are provisions from HB 2058 (so called “dead red” bill) which would allow motorcycles and bicycles to proceed through a steady red signal when no traffic is present and the signal’s vehicle detector is unable to ascertain the presence of the light weight cycle.

Brief testimony from one proponent for the three feet amendment will be allowed when the Senate Transportation Committee reviews HB 2192 next Thursday, March 10th. Cyclists are encouraged to attend the hearing in room 152 at 8:30 a.m. Meanwhile e-mails and letters of support for a three foot law should be sent to Committee Chair Senator Dwayne Umbarger of Thayer; Senator Bob Marshall of Fort Scott; Senator Kelly Kultala of Kansas City; Senator Roger Reitz of Manhattan; Senators Anthony Hensley and Vicki Schmidt of Topeka; Senators Les Donovan and Mike Petersen of Wichita; and Senator Terrie Huntington of Fairway. If the Bill is successfully amended in the Committee, further communications will be forwarded regarding the next needed step to support enactment.

Heath Glenn, president of the Kaw Valley Bicycle Club, has this to say:

The 3′ passing legislation still has life in it. We need for you to contact the Senators to show your support for the 3′ legislation. Also if you are in the Topeka area we encourage you to attend the hearing March 10th, 8:30 AM, in room 152 in the Kansas State House.

This is the time we have been waiting for so let our voices be heard, don’t delay. There is strength in numbers.

Here is the sample letter provided:

Senator ____________
Statehouse
Topeka KS 66612

Dear Senator _________________,

I am asking you to support an amendment to an appropriate bill that would offer protection for bicyclists when passed on the street or highway by motor vehicles. House Bill 2174 (narrowly defeated on a voice vote in the House February 22nd) would require motor vehicles to provide a minimum of three feet of space when passing a bicycle. 

As an avid cyclist, I am concerned not just for my well being but for the safety of children and other individuals who are especially vulnerable when traveling by bike. Please support such a measure and feel free to contact me regarding this issue.

Sincerely,

_______________________

Feel free to use the sample letter (filling in the blanks as appropriate, of course), or personalize it, but please, be focused, concise, and respectful in your comments.

Here are the Senator’s email addresses:

• Senator Dwayne Umbarger: Dwayne.Umbarger@senate.ks.gov (Thayer)
• Senator Bob Marshall: Bob.Marshall@senate.ks.gov(Fort Scott)
• Senator Kelly Kultala: Kelly.Kultala@senate.ks.gov (Kansas City)
• Senator Roger Reitz: Roger.Reitz@senate.ks.gov (Manhattan)
• Senator Anthony Hensley: Anthony.Hensley@senate.ks.gov (Topeka)
• Senator Vicki Schmidt: Vicki.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov (Topeka)
• Senator Les Donovan: Les.Donovan@senate.ks.gov (Wichita)
• Senator Mike Petersen: Mike.Petersen@senate.ks.gov (Wichita)
• Senator Terrie Huntington: Terrie.Huntington@senate.ks.gov (Fairway)

SPEAK UP! Now’s the time.

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A proposal to give bicyclists a little breathing room against cars and trucks was defeated in the House, 55-59.

The measure said: “The driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a distance of not less than 3 feet and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.”

Here’s the background on the bill: 3-Foot Passing Bill Moves Forward in Kansas

The HB2174 page on the Kansas Legislature has not yet been updated to reflect the result of the vote, nor is a roll call of house member votes available online yet.

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