GetAbout Columbia and PedNet Coalition have teamed up this month to promote September as “Way To Go To Work Month.”  The hope is to increase bicycle awareness, usage and good bicycling etiquette throughout Columbia by providing courses such as “Bike Skills 101” and “Confident City Cycling.”
    Another program implemented in the past few months is GetAbout’s Errand Bikes Program.  This program allows businesses in The District to borrow bikes from GetAbout for any need - making deliveries, biking to work, or simply advertising.  
    PedNet’s Program Coordinator Janet Goden said that in particular the restaurant Main Squeeze has made this story a success by purchasing its own bike after completing the 30-day trial.  The Errand Bikes Program is available to any business owner trying to “green” their operation, reduce traffic around their businesses, or simply trying to promote a healthier lifestyle for their employees and customers.

    GetAbout and PedNet are both working to motivate people to use alternate means of transportation whether it be walking or biking.  They are offering commuter gear, free guided tours, and brown bag lunch seminars as incentives for those willing to explore alternate transportation.
    Getting Columbians on bikes is only part of the challenge, having the infrastructure to support bicyclists is also essential. Changes large and small have been made, and future developments include projectslike back-in diagonal parking on the south side of Ash Street between Seventh and Ninth streets to help improve safety conditions for motorists and bikers alike.
    These continuing efforts to promote Columbia’s bicycling education, participation and infrastructure are funded by the $25 million Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program authorized by Congress to promote non-motorized transportation in counties around the U.S., including Columbia, Mo., Marin County, Ca., Minneapolis, Minn., and Sheboygan County, Wis. The goal is to decrease road congestion, conserve fossil fuel energy, and help to provide for a cleaner environment.
For more information on classes and infrastructure updates visit www.getaboutcolumbia.com or call 573-874-7460. Both classes instruct bikers on good road positioning, safety tips, and bicycling laws in Columbia.  Confident City Cycling is offered until the last week in October and Bike Skills 101 is offered on September 17 and 24. 

By Matthew Busch
 

Bicyclists now have more rights and protections on Columbia’s streets. The offense of harassing a bicyclist is now established as a class A misdemeanor after the Columbia City Council amended Chapter 16 of the City Code in Monday’s meeting. Previously, charges of harassment could only be brought as class 3 assault and many officers saw that charge as inappropriate.

The ordinance defines harassment in four ways.

(1) Knowingly throwing an object at or in the direction of any person riding a
bicycle; or
(2) Threatening any person riding a bicycle for the purpose of frightening or
disturbing the person riding the bicycle; or
(3) Sounding a horn, shouting or otherwise directing sound toward any person riding a
bicycle for the purpose of frightening or disturbing the person riding the
bicycle; or
(4) Knowingly placing a person riding a bicycle in apprehension of immediate
physical injury; or
(5) Knowingly engaging in conduct that creates a risk of death or serious physical
injury to the person riding a bicycle.

The ordinance’s language addresses experiences and concerns voiced by the 20 Columbia residents (the author included) who spoke in favor of the ordinance. None spoke against.

Despite their intent, the definitions’ language of “bicyclists” was the greatest opponent and caused the council to spend about an hour and a half on the issue.

Council member Paul Sturtz was the first to comment, saying he was “uncomfortable with the ordinance” because there are many relationships on the road that need protecting, not just bicyclists.

Building on Sturtz’s comments, council member Jerry Wade said other citizens, including those with disabilities, experience similar harassment, but the ordinance only protected bicyclists. Wade also questioned the ability to have successful prosecution and conviction under the ordinance, saying it could “create a false sense of being secure.”

Wade proposed to instead create a task force to assess the level of harassment and better manage conflicts between road users; then create a new ordinance.

Council members Laura Nauser and Jason Thornhill echoed Sturtz’s and Wade’s concerns of excluding non-bicyclists and the ability to successfully prosecute and convict.

Council member Karl Skala acknowledged the exclusion issue, but with concerns about bicyclists’ protection during the interim said, “I don’t see reducing harassment toward any group as a privilege, I guess I see it as more of a right.”

After more discussion about Wade’s task force, Nauser asked for role but Hoppe interjected and expressed concern about the task force moving too slowly.

Thornhill questioned Chief of Police Ken Burton on the ordinance’s effectiveness.

Burton said, “I think the ordinance as written fills in gaps that activities that would normally not reach the level of an assault could be addressed through the ordinance.”

With Burton’s clarification of the ordinance’s efficacy the council addressed the bicycle language.

Wade said, “I would like to see … the word bicyclist replaced with the range of people that are facing harassment on our roads.”

All council members echoed this view and were able to unanimously pass the ordinance with the agreement to later amend language including other users like pedestrians, joggers, and wheelchair users.

PedNet was influential in proposing the ordinance and creating its language. For Robert Johnson, PedNet’s educational coordinator, his hard work paid off; he thinks it’s a huge success, and is “totally open to amending.”

Columbia resident, cyclist and jogger Pam Thorne said, “I’m very pleased. Debate was a good thing.”



Editor’s Note:
After hearing tales of everything from an offensive honk to head on car to bike collisions as a result of harassment, RideColumbia.com will soon be creating an area of the site where cyclists, joggers, pedestrians, and wheelchair users can post and discuss incidents of harassment to help increase rider awareness.

An ordinance to directly outlaw the harassment of bicyclists is currently being introduced to Columbia City Council through the efforts of PedNet, and will be in council for public comment at the next city council meeting Monday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 701 E. Broadway.

The ordinance is a specific law where police can bring charges of a class A misdemeanor for harassment of a bicyclist. Without this ordinance, officers’ only option is class 3 assault, where penalties and burdens of proof are both so high it is unlikely law enforcement officials will pursue convictions.

PedNet’s Robert Johnson has worked with city officials in creating this ordinance and is strongly encouraging Columbians to speak out in support of the ordinance by attending Monday’s meeting or by e-mailing their city council members, whose wards can be found on this page.

While much work has been done to give the ordinance the best chance of being approved, Johnson says: “This law is by no means a slam dunk to pass council. There will no doubt be detractors there and we need many supporters there to pass this important ordinance.”

The proposed ordinance comes in response to acts of harassment towards Columbia’s bicyclists, and in the continuing effort to give bicyclists more rights and protections on the road. These protections are detailed in the ordinance’s language below:

Sec. 16-145. Harassment of a bicyclist.
(a) A person commits the offense of harassment of a bicyclist if the person:
(1) Knowingly throws an object at or in the direction of any person riding a
bicycle; or
(2) Threatens any person riding a bicycle for the purpose of frightening or
disturbing the person riding the bicycle; or
(3) Sounds a horn, shouts or otherwise directs sound toward any person riding a
bicycle for the purpose of frightening or disturbing the person riding the
bicycle; or
(4) Knowingly places a person riding a bicycle in apprehension of immediate
physical injury; or
(5) Knowingly engages in conduct that creates a risk of death or serious physical
injury to the person riding a bicycle.
(b) Harassment of a bicyclist is a Class A misdemeanor.
Secs.

Bike Fest is aimed at promoting and connecting the Columbia biking community with MU students and encouraging students to use bikes in their daily lives. The two-day event consisted of Wednesday's fair on Lowry Mall with many local bike related organizations providing information and demonstrations for passing students. The following day classes were held teaching essential bike knowledge to 70 students, like how to change a flat, safe ways to commute, and basic mechanical maitenance. Sustain Mizzou, GetAbout Columbia and Bike Fest coordinator Matt Wayman organized this year's Bike Fest.

The wheels on GetAbout Columbia’s infrastructure plan are turning as construction continues at three Columbia intersections receiving changes to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.

The three intersections currently under construction are Providence/Stewart, Forum/Stadium and Providence/Stadium. Each intersection is costing GetAbout Columbia roughly $400,000 to make subtle yet crucial changes to each intersection.

“It’s a lot of little tweaks that can make an intersection work better for pedestrians and bicyclists. It’s not a major thing like an overpass,” bike/ped program manager Ted Curtis said.

Things like making the pedestrian crossing shorter, trying to merge bike lanes with car lanes, and adding pedestrian heads to those intersections that didn’t have them, would in turn make these intersections safer for everyone involved, explained Curtis.

While all three intersections are scheduled for completion on May 15th, the Providence/Stewart intersection is further along.

GetAbout Columbia used a community involvement program to identify which intersections were the worst to cross. “These came to the head of the list as far as the community’s assessment,” said Curtis. The numbers show there is no intersection in Columbia with a statistically significant amount of accidents. The choice of intersections was “ driven by perception of unsafe crossings,” said Curtis.

He said the objective is to make sure that all bicyclists, those with experience and those without, feel comfortable riding around the streets of Columbia.

The intersection improvements are only part of GetAbout Columbia’s activities to help riders feel safe. Smith said that the on-street marking system for bicycles is the biggest project at the moment.

The on street markings, or “sharrows,” are painted markings featuring a bicycle symbol and arrows pointing in the direction of travel.

Curtis explains that the markings help share the road. “The objective is to publicize that there are bikes on the road. Showing bicyclists where to ride and telling motorists to watch out for bicyclists,” Curtis said.

Curtis said on street markings would set up a grid system in which bicyclists can use to get around the city on relatively safe roads. GetAbout Columbia also plans to experiment with different color treatments this summer. Curtis said that they are about one-third of the way through making the shared lane markers.

While GetAbout Columbia works with on-street markings and intersection upgrades to increase the number of bicyclists on the road, they are also helping them get off the road. Another round of bike racks are slated for installation. “Our intent is to add 1000 bike parking spaces downtown, we’re at about 500 right now,” said Curtis. The spaces are dispersed through the city, especially on 9th Street. Among those are nine covered spaces recently installed on the north sidewalk of Elm Street, between Ninth and Tenth streets.