1995-1996 Massachusetts Bicycle Legislation

• H.1940 Bicycle/Pedestrian Access
  This bill would require the Massachusetts Highway Department to provide bicycle and pedestrian access in all road and highway construction projects. It has been passed by both houses of the legislature and finally was signed by the Governor on May 20, 1996.
• S.2047 Bicycle Program
  This law formally defines the state bicycle program and adds citizen members, including a citizen co-chair who might be able to help move the meeting hours to times when more nongovernment types can attend, to the State Bicycle Advisory Board. It was the best we could wrest from the Senate Ways and Means Committee, despite the tremendous support we had for the Bicycle Program Fund bill. The Democrats in power in Massachusetts are as anti-tax as any Republicans, to the extent of opposing transfer of tax dollars from one program to another. It is awaiting action in the house.
• H.5206 Open Space Bond Bill This bill includes money for the Border to Boston Rail Trail, a Connecticut Riverway and Bikeway Project, and the MDC's Neponset River Greenway, which includes a bikeway. The current legislature has generally refused to act upon ANY environmental legislation and needs to be pushed hard on this one.
• S.1729, H.1931 Bicycle Program Fund
  The centerpiece is the Bicycle Program Fund Bill, which would provided a steady stream of funding for bicycle projects using one percent of the state gasoline tax. A stable source of funding will ensure that bicycle facilities and access are built and maintained. Oregon passed a similar bill in 1971, with great success in increasing bicycling as transportation in that state. Minnesota's state Bicycle Advisory Board just recommended increasing yearly bicycle project spending from $4 million to $10 million, which that board estimates will save the state $11 to $45 million per year in roadway maintenance and construction costs by 1999.
• H.152 Bicycle Program Office
  This bill rewrites the enabling legislation to more closely follow the way the State Bicycle Program Office works. It adds 3 more citizen members to the State Bicycle Advisory Board and specifies that those members represent bicycle groups. BCOM is working to give the citizen members more power and add language directing the BPO to exert more influence over the Highway Department by fixing up its highway manual and imlementing the requirements of H.1940. Our revisions have, for the most part, been included in S.2047, the Senate Ways and Means Committee's rewrite of this bill.
• H.1893 Parking
  The Bicycle Parking bill will require certain off-street parking areas to provide a minimum number of bicycle parking spaces, to be determined by relevant agencies.
• Education
  The Traffic Safety Education bill requires the Director of Physical Education in the state Department of Education to develop, implement, and review pedestrian, bicycle, and motor vehicle occupant safety education in public elementary and high schools (in cooperation with the Bicycle Program Manager and the State Bicycle Advisory Board). Most bicycle and pedestrian fatalities are children who have not learned traffic safety; traffic accidents are the leading cause of death and disability to school-age children in the U.S.
• Car Doors
  The Car Door bill requires motorists and their passengers to look for traffic before opening car doors, as stipulated in the Uniform Vehicle Code adopted by at least 32 states but not yet accepted in Massachusetts.

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