Yesterday, the Austin City Council passed the so called Safe Passing Ordinance. The law requires motorists to provide at least 3 feet and trucks to provide at least 6 feet of room when passing “vulnerable road users.” Cyclist are included in this list of users. In addition, the Council passed an ordinance a ban on texting while driving.

Safe passing image courtesy Texas Bicycle Coalition

Added: The following is a report from Tom Wald:

Today, October 22nd, 2009, at 2:51pm Central Daylight Time, the Austin City Council passed (6-0) the Safe Passing Ordinance. Among other things, the new ordinance will require motorists to give at least three feet clearance when passing vulnerable road users in the same lane, including bicyclists. The language of the ordinance matches the bill passed by the 2009 Texas Legislature, but vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry.

The item had been on the council’s consent agenda, which means that it would have been voted on without discussion, but Councilmember Laura Morrison asked to pull it. She wanted to highlight the need for education to make sure that motorists have adequate opportunity to become aware of the law before they are ticketed. Howard Lazarus, Director of Public Works, had volumes ready to say in response, describing the multitudes of ways that motorists will be informed. I used the opportunity to zone out and type in a tweet for the pending passage of the ordinance.

Councilmember Chris Riley spoke briefly in support of the proposed ordinance. (Bill Spelman had left the dais, hence six votes instead of seven.) Robin Stallings of BikeTexas also spoke (the only member of the public who did so) for about a half-minute in support of the ordinance. When I checked the count in the morning, there were about 70 people signed up in favor, and one person against. (I think it’s even possible that the one person who signed up as against just pressed the wrong button — I’ll check into it.)

A big thanks goes out to Bike Texas and Robin Stallings for working to get this through. Austin is part of the BikeTexas strategy to get the Safe Passing law passed (safely?) in numerous cities across Texas. While getting coverage in all cities would be helpful, the goal is to keep the pressure on to get full coverage in Texas as several other states do, including Louisiana.

Along with the Safe Passing ordinance (item #30 today), the text-messaging ban (item #28) also passed.

Related posts:

1. Safe Passing ordinance on City Council agenda for this week ...
2. Austin Safe Passing Ordinance Update: Ordinance resolution passes unanimously ...
3. Action Alert: Austin safe passing ordinance at risk, your action needed ...
4. Safe Passing Bill Passes in Texas Senate ...
5. Update on Safe Passing Bill: Gov Perry Vetoes SB 488 ...