Lunenburg road bike ban?

[Slappy]

Can't possibly be legal can it?

"Bourgeois has drafted two versions of the bylaw.

One would ban all skateboards, bikes, rollerblades, horses, and other forms of recreational transportation from public sidewalks, roads and parking lots, according to the Board of Selectmen's chief administrative assistant, Laura Williams. Williams said another version would only ban such activities from major thoroughfares in town, such as Massachusetts Avenue and Electric Avenue. "

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/ci_4560429

[Slider]

I don't think they've thought this one through. First, a bike in MA has all the rights of a motor vehicle, and I don't think you can distinguish between "recreational" vehicles and other forms of transportation. Beyond that, he'll hear from voters, I'd hope, asking for disclosure of any Exxon stock he may hold.

I think the Police Chief may have whacked himself back in the day on that no-turn skateboard.

Slider

[bikdav]

It sounds like (to me at least) that Lunenburg is trying to do something that is not only unfair but also illegal. I certainly hope that Beacon Hill or someone else in power will put a quick stop to this. Most other communities (some of which I would have never thought of as bicycle friendly)are trying to make cycling grow big. So, what is Lunenburg's deal? Keep us posted please. Any news stations want to do an investigation?

[Slappy]

David Watson from Massbike plans to write a letter to the editor of the S+E as a start. I'm going to send an email to the cheif just to make sure he knows he needs to exclude bikes from whatever 'ban' he plans on proposing.

Tough town to have fun in, it sounds like.

[RideDaEpic]

Where do you draw the line with recreational vehicles... many would consider motorcycles to be recreational. This bill will not last.

[Slappy]

Sounds like a case of misunderstanding by the reporter; here's the chiefs reply to an email I sent him inquiring about the article:


Dennis,
Thanks for your e-mail. It is NOT our intention to ban bicycles from our public ways. I did not read the article in the S&E. The two By-Laws we are looking at in no way ban bicycles from public ways!!! One does limit the use of bicycles on sidewalks but is compliant with 85-11B as written.
Being an active cyclist, both on and off road (and skateboarder in my younger days), I understand your concern with this news print. I am familiar with 85-11B and will take a look massbike.org. for further information.
There are some "motorized mini-bikes and skateboards" on the market that draw my concern regarding safety issues on public ways/sidewalks. We are considering including these in the proposed by-law.
Please don't hesitate to contact me or drop in to introduce yourself.


Respectfully,
Chief Daniel Bourgeois
Lunenburg Police Department
655 Massachusetts Avenue
Lunenburg, MA 01462

[BigMac]

don't plan on making any trips there any time soon.

[sizlinseagulsoup]

It's good they don't actually plan on banning bikes, but I have heard of it being done in other states (Chicago area). Not sure if those rumors are true though, I have never bothered to research the laws in that area.

Whatever happened with Concord? I know a few years back there was a big citizen concern about the large amount of cyclists riding through town and they were going to work on making next to impossible to bike there.

I was actually riding through Concord with another Brandeis Student two weeks ago and some guy got out of his 60,000 dollar car to *fight* us because he had to wait to get around us while we dodged potholes. He was screaming about how it is illegal to ride in a group in Concord and he was going to have us arrested blah blah blah. He didn't follow us to the police station (which was only a tenth of a mile down the road) though.

[pk]

The rules about road riding in Concord are no different than the rest of the Commonwealth. There is a, however, a growing animosity between motorists and road cyclists, probably due the the fact that many organized rides go through town and some have a "peloton" mentality and take over the entire road. Concord has also become quite a snooty town...

pk

[Slappy]

I think there are a lot of roadies that need a lesson in cooperating with other traffic - seems that once there are more than 3 in a group, they get some sort of idea that the world revolves around them and they shouldn't have to make the slightest effort to let anyone by. Ever been stuck behind these idiots riding 2 abreast and pretending not to notice the line of cars trying to pass? If I had to put up with that on a regular basis, I'm pretty sure I'd have been in a scrape or two myself.

Speaking of roadies, turns out the Lunenburg Cheif is a pretty dedicated rider also - he and his son did the PMC this year, and not only did the ride, but also left a day early from home and rode to the start. I'm gonna try to get him to dust off his MTB next season.