My old Specialized bike leans against an old sign on West Main in Medford on May 13, 2023.
Last week I was glad to see that the road sign remembering Donald L. Stathos on this so-called “bikeway” between Medford and Jacksonville was still there. It made me wonder what this year’s session of the Oregon legislature had in store in connection with bikes.
A quick online search of the legislature’s website turned up four bills that had been introduced this session. As far as I could tell, only one was still pending. The others appeared to have been filed and then forgotten.
House Bill 2571 was pending in Joint Ways and Means, the legislature’s budget committee. The bill would set up a $6 million program in the Department of Environmental Quality to give rebates to buyers of “electric assisted bicycles.”
The rebates would be $400 for bikes costing $950 or more. Buyers from “qualifying households” could get bigger rebates. There’s no reason to worry about the details unless the bill becomes law, which seems unlikely even though the House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment endorsed it 9-1.
One of the bills that’s dead is SB 301, which would repeal the 2019 law change that allowed cyclists to run stop signs if the road is clear.
Also dead is SB 693. That one would establish a “voluntary bicycle registration program” in the Oregon Department of Transportation. This would involve a registration fee of $12 plus various kinds of paperwork concerning serial numbers.
Finally, there’s HB 3212. It would have the Department of Parks and Recreation study the feasibility of allowing “electric assisted” bikes to be used on public trails where motorized vehicles are banned. It’s a subject that does need some thought because electric bikes and scooters can go much faster than what you want on paths where people walk.
None of these bills, even if passed, would come close to the landmark measure sponsored by Don Stathos, the author of the Oregon Bike Bill. This law, passed in 1971, obligates state and local governments to spend a certain percentage of road money on paths for people on foot and on bikes.
Maybe some day Medford or Jackson County will spend some of that money so that the bikeway dedicated to the late Rep. Stathos will become worthy of the name. (hh)
That bikeway looks adequate given Oregon’s current transportation funding model.
How much government provided transportation do you want? More?
Then don’t complain when the state funding model imposes more tolling and road usage charges along with the gas tax.
And don’t be surprised when ODOT requires the city to “enhance” its investment. I wonder what new tax (ahh, sorry, fee) the city council will unilaterally force on Albany citizens?
Such is the nature of publicly owned roads run socialistically by politicians and bureaucrats. There’s never enough money. And for goodness sakes, never ask the people for permission to take more.
Hooray for bikes and bike fees!! Bring on the toll roads. They would help control taxes.
If you don’t want to pay the toll, don’t travel on the toll road or toll bridge.
Hasso, thanks for the (bike) ride down memory lane with your recent trip to Medford & Jacksonville . I lived there in the late 1980’s and worked at Bear Creek Corporation aka Harry & David/Jackson & Perkins. I rode my bicycle on weekends and after work out Main St. to South Stage Road and Old Stage Road and they were great rides. I recall music on the shaded lawn at the old Jackson County Courthouse, it was a museum then, and sitting under the stars with a box supper from the Bella Union for Britt Concerts. We enjoyed watching early Windham Hill musicians as well as classicals concerts. Tehn Saturday morning trips to downtown Ashland for the “hippie” shops and Lithia Park. At that time, Medford had a Carnegie library also, just like our Downtown Albany library. Ahh, those were sweet times.
Why should bikes get money automobiles taxes pay… you want paths pay fees like I do so I can drive my car. My fees go up every time I turn around and I’m sick of pedestrians and bikes having right of way on roads made for motorists! Sorry just my opinion
I have a bike and I wants paths. I also have two cars so pay taxes and fees, plus own a house so pay taxes. Roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks are made for all users, not just you.
It’s time to start licensing bikes/scooters ridden by adults! Especially the electric ones. Not only are they absolutely silent and as fast as the vehicles, but are given right of ways through intersections. Ridiculous, I say. It’s a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.