Should bicyclists be licensed to ride?The City of Seattle recently gave the green light for a $240 million plan for new bike lanes and street upgrades. Redmond may someday invest heavily in street upgrades for bikes. And that has some people wondering if bicyclists, like motorists, should share some of the costs of the road. Like a licensing fee. The Seattle PI looks at the options out there, but what do you think?
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No, bicycles shouldn't be licensed this early in the game. At this stage bicyclists need to be encouraged to commute and do errands on their bike. Registration would discourage positive behaviors. Perhaps, 10 years from now when bicycle traffic is more common, liscensing could be considered. As for funding the impacts of bike traffic on our infrastructure, I believe grant monies are readily available when bike lanes are included in multi-model corridors.
ReplyDeleteBicycling in Redmond
ReplyDeleteWelcome to bicycling in Redmond! Redmond is called the Bicycling Capital of the Northwest, but you would never guess that with the clueless-people in city hall.
Has anyone been on the new bike lanes along 85th? They call them bike lanes, but you better watch out because they end at every block. When you riding along your bike lane becomes the right turn lane and the when your bike lanes does continue, driver use it as a turn lane anyway.
Watch out, that has to be the worst idea for bike lanes ever. If you don’t know what I am talking about just keep watch the news, it will not belong before some one is hit in one of the bike lanes from some clue-less driver. Redmond police don’t issue traffic tickets, so drives are never corrected, their idea it to reduce the lanes and have them self policed.
Sorry for the rant, but Redmond has no idea what it means to be the bicycling capital of the northwest, nor do they care anymore.
I'm only guessing that most people who own and ride bikes to work also own cars. Therefore they are already paying to use the roads.
ReplyDeleteDriver, passenger, pedestrian or biker-is anyone really safe on our roads?
Yes. Adults over 18 using the roadways as a form of
ReplyDeletetransportation should be licensed. If you're on city
streets, bike lights and licenses should be required. If bicyclists are acting like a car they should obey the rules of the road and be accountable. Cyclists become invincible and darting between cars
seems to be the norm and a hazard.
Not sure what the goal here is to have bicyclists licensed. People in cars are licensed and yet they are not held accountable, at least not here in Redmond. Look at the court records of traffic citation from five years ago and compare them to last year. I would be willing to bet they are down more the 20%.
ReplyDeleteIf you drive here in Redmond you will know they are not from drivers being more careful. It is a lack or the Redmond Police doing traffic control. And this is because of the mayor we had for 8 years longer then she should have been in office. Just how much was the last pay raise she got? Hmm now many more police could have been on our streets? And I won’t even talk about the new city hall... Yea that was smart choice, or better yet the under utilized parking garage they just had to have.
So this is not an issue about safety, or being held accountable for how a cyclist rides on the streets. It would be a way for the tax hungry folks to get one more $ out of something, but not call it a tax... it called a license. Yea I see the difference. Don’t you?
No way for licensing bicycle riders. Take a ride on Sunday on the Sammammish River Trail, and you will see all ages riding, roller blades, and even horses. Even a few walkers. Everyone seems to get along, so why regulate something like bike riding. We don't need to license bicycle riding in Redmond because there is no problem that needs a "solution". Things might be different in Seattle, where there are so many delivery riders buzzing around with packages strapped on their backs. But in Redmond, most riders are commuters, or casual recreational riders.
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