As of July 1 a new law, passed by the General Assembly last spring and signed into law by Governor Terry McAuliffe, means that motorists must give bicycle riders three feet of space – instead of two – as they pass a cyclist on the shoulder of a road.
The extra breathing room should provide an additional margin of safety for bike riders, especially on most of the roads in the Roanoke Valley, where there are few bike lanes and in many cases narrow shoulders.
Long time biking advocate and cycling teacher Barbara Duerk stresses safe cycling – during a class, for example, that she offers in local schools right before summer starts. The new three-foot rule should be easier to enforce said Duerk, who added that if there is another lane available, vehicles are encouraged to move as far left as they can. Cyclists normally ride about where the right wheel of a car would track if there were no bike lane or wide shoulder, she noted.
Duerk, a one-time City Council candidate in Roanoke, thinks the new rule will “also make it easier to determine [who is] at fault when a collision happens.” Cyclists normally sway a bit from side to side when they ride anyway she noted, but the three-foot rule should allow for that occurrence. “You don’t track in a single line…but if you [sway] three feet there is a problem.”
Motorists are going to have to get used to seeing bikers along the side of the roadways said Duerk, who called that “a sign of positive economic development. Businesses and people are moving to communities that offer more biking and walking. Bicycling also [signifies] a healthy community.” Cycling fits in with the “Roanoke Outdoors” message that the valley has been promoting over the last few years, according to Duerk.
VDOT projects that by 2040 there will be many more people biking for the health aspect, according to Duerk, and more will do so for commuting purposes as well. She credits Salem delegate Greg Habeeb, who cycles with his family, for helping to push the three-foot law in Richmond. “He sits on the transportation committee and recognizes that employers need a reliable workforce … many employees use the bicycle as a means of transportation.” Republican legislators in general, she noted, really went to bat for the one-foot change in the law.
Whether it’s for health, recreation or by necessity, biking is here to stay said Duerk, noting that low-income workers in particular might opt to use a bicycle for commuting. Cyclists need to obey the rules of the road as well – they are considered vehicles and are subject to most of the same regulations as much larger and heavier vehicles. In any case, “We need to provide safe transportation – it is economic development,” added Duerk, a longtime fixture on local road and greenways.
By Gene Marrano
