Item 30 on the Austin City Council agenda for this Thursday’s meeting is the adoption of a Safe Passing ordinance for the City of Austin. The law would require cars and light trucks to provide at least three feet of passing room to so called “vulnerable road users.” Heavy trucks and commercial vehicles would have to provide six feet. This ordinance is an attempted to rectify, at least locally, Governor Perry’s veto of the statewide safe passing law which has caused outrage in the cycling community.
Safe passing image courtesy Texas Bicycle Coalition
Interestingly, the agenda summary of the law does not include people riding a bicycle as a “vulnerable road user” although the ordinance itself does include cyclists, and there are references to the Master Bicycle Plan in the summary.
This is a huge step in making our streets safe for all users. While it does not make fines higher for failing to provide sufficient passing space, this ordinance will make it easier to prosecute drivers who hit cyclists while failing to follow the prescribed passing distance.
We encourage you to contact members of the City Council to express your support for item 30.
How to have your voice heard
1. Send an email to the City Council
Write the council now at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm and tell them you support these measures.
2. Call the City Council
If you have the time, a phone call would help as well. Here’s the contact info for all the council members. They all serve at-large so you can call any of them or all of them. Just ring their office and tell them you support the safe passing law and texting ban.
Mayor Lee Leffingwell- (512) 974-2250
Place 1 Councilmember Chris Riley- (512) 974-2260
Place 2 Councilmember Mike Martinez- (512) 974-2264
Place 3 Councilmember Randi Shade- (512) 974-2255
Place 4 Councilmember Laura Morrison- (512) 974-2258
Place 5 Councilmember Bill Spelman- (512) 974-2256
Place 6 Councilmember Sheryl Cole- (512) 974-2266
3. Sign up to support the items at Thursday’s meeting
Sign up in support of the item for Thursday’s council meeting. (You may sign up simply as a supporter, or to speak. You may yield time to another speaker but only if you are in the room when they speaker speaks. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, but you may sign up in the city hall lobby kiosks as early as Wednesday.)
on Oct 19th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
According to Nadia we can sign up in support (or against) the ordinance as early as TODAY. I’m gonna swing by after work if I can and confirm this. The more signatures we get in favor, the better.
on Oct 22nd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Safe Passing ordinance voted on 2day! meeting starts @ 10 a.m. @ City Hall.sign up in the city hall lobby kiosks: http://tinyurl.com/ygjehz3
on Oct 22nd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
@mellowjohnnys fyi, safe ordinance being voted on today. 10am @ city hall: http://tinyurl.com/ygjehz3