Many articles have been coming in on new bike lanes, the first our city has seen in 10 years. In case you were out riding or at Savannah Bicycle College on Saturday, Saturday’s article from Lesley Conn in the Savannah Morning News includes a mostly pro-bike facility wrapup of the Washington Avenue lane. Earlier, Bill Dawers weighed in on adding parking and bike facilities to Price Street, a project still in the conversation phase, more still to come there.
Conn’s article also has a good outline of Bike Month activities (which you can also see at this post), not the least of which will be the Sat May 22 Kids’ Ciclovia, where the streets will be opened to bike and pedestrian traffic only in the block surrounding Tiedeman Park (in front of Savannah Arts Academy). There will be bike games and activities for kids, food and a ribbon cutting for the new Washington Ave bike lane. There will also be a raffle for 2 new bikes from Perry Rubber Bike Shop!
3 Comments
Isn’t the Mayor misinformed about the illegality of bicyclists using sidewalks? I looked it up in the city code and there are only three area in which bicycles are not permitted to use sidewalks in the entire city. Those are Broughton Street from MLK to Lincoln; any of the squares in the historic district; and a small stretch of sidewalk in Forsyth Park from the fountain, going south adjacent to the new visitor’s center. That’s it. Could you please clarify?
Georgia code prohibits bicycling on sidewalks statewide, except as allowed by local ordinance for children 12 and under (see below). This was adopted in 2009, prior to which in Savannah the locations you note were previously the only prohibited areas for sidewalk riding. It should be noted, however, that depending on which study you cite, riding a bicycle is at least 5 times and possibly up to 24 times more likely to result in a crash. Considering the increased danger of riding on the sidewalk due to motorists (who are not typically scanning sidewalks for obstacles) crossing your path at driveways and cross-streets, we would very much discourage riding on sidewalks generally.
§ 40-6-144. Emerging from alley, driveway, or building
The driver of a vehicle emerging from an alley, building, private road, or driveway within a business or residential district shall stop such vehicle immediately prior to driving onto a sidewalk or onto the sidewalk area extending across such alley, building entrance, road, or driveway or, in the event there is no sidewalk area, shall stop at the point nearest the street to be entered where the driver has a view of approaching traffic thereon. The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way to any pedestrian on a sidewalk. Except as provided by resolution or ordinance of a local government for sidewalks within the jurisdiction of such local government authorizing the operation of bicycles on sidewalks by persons 12 years of age or younger, no person shall drive any vehicle upon a sidewalk or sidewalk area except upon a permanent or duly authorized driveway.
Drew thanks for the clarification on the bicycle on sidewalk laws. Hopefully the city will act to remove the conflicting language from the city code to be in line with state law. It is somewhat unfair to bicyclists. I appreciate your sentiment regarding the risk of sidewalk usage while cycling. However, I am a bit perplexed by the placement of the bike lane on Washington adjacent to the park lane. As a victim of a “dooring” last fall, I have the scars, hospital bills and permanent hardware in my leg to tell me that riding that close to parked car is nonsensical. Why was the configuration employed on Lincoln not used. Is the Washington configuration being recommended for Price?
Answer me this? What do you recommend the bicyclist using the bike lane do as a car door suddenly opens in his path? Hit it and suffer the consequences or swerve into the traffic lane to avoid it and suffer the consequences? Seems to me this was not very logically thought through?
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