Velocipedes, horses and bells—oh, my!
ALBANY—The leaves are changing colors, the birds are chirping, and the ubiquitous cyclists are out, riding illegally in Washington and Beaver parks.
Wait. Illegally?
Yes.
The regulation prohibiting cyclists from riding in city parks is among many city traffic ordinances — some in place for over a century — that are under the Albany Common Council’s scrutiny for being outdated or unenforced.
Common Council Majority Leader Ginnie Farrell said legislators became aware of a “really old bike code” a few years ago that seemed to date back to the late 1800s.
“We don’t know that for sure,” said Farell, a co-sponsor of a revision to the traffic code. “But it still has horses in there, and it has velocipedes.”
“Velocipedes” is a term that originated in the 19th century to describe the human-powered forerunner of the modern bicycle. Traffic regulations still require those cyclists and their successors to use “lamps” at night and to ring a bell when approaching intersections, all while adhering to a speed limit of just 8 miles per hour.
Many of the changes in the proposed legislation have been championed in recent years by the Albany Bicycle Coalition, an advocacy group promoting bike- and pedestrian- friendly streets.
“We reviewed the existing ordinances at one of our ABC meetings, compared it to that in other municipalities and first submitted suggestions [the to Common Council] well over a year ago,” said ABC President Ed Brennan.
Many of the ideas ABC recommended are included in the revision, but the overhaul to traffic code affecting bicycles, e-scooters and other similar modes of transportation is the independent work of the legislative sponsors, Brennan said.
Some of the changes simply align the law with people’s behavior. For instance, it removes the ban on biking in Washington and Beaver parks, which isn’t enforced today.
One significant change is the addition of provisions in city law permitting bicycles on sidewalks, so long as they stay at least 5 feet from pedestrians and go no more than 5 mph. Currently, Brennan says, the legality of sidewalk riding is different from city to city, but considering how uncomfortable some people are riding on certain streets, this opens another legal space for bikers.
The Common Council also considers bringing city law on e-scooters in line with state law by explicitly permitting their use. In 2020, the state legalized using e-scooters on many city streets, although not on sidewalks. However, the Common Council is also
creating a new catch-all category of vehicles called “unregistered motorized vehicles,” which includes electric skateboards, segways, hoverboards, electric unicycles, and potentially other new inventions, and making their operation on city streets and sidewalks illegal under city law. This will bring city law in line with state law.
The proposed changes coincide with efforts by the Capital District Transportation Authority to create a safer, more pedestrian-friendly environment and to encourage more sustainable transportation programs. In order for other forms of transportation to succeed, it is important for traffic laws to be clear and modern, according to Brennan and other advocates.
“I doubt that many Albany City Police are aware of these [laws],” said Brennan, referring to the requirement by cyclists to ring a bell. “I’ve never heard of anyone being cited for not ringing their bell at intersections.”
Last month, CDTA announced it was piloting CDTA Scoot!, an e-scooter sharing program in the Capital Region. One of the areas featured in the pilot program was a chunk of downtown Albany stretching from Market Street to Emmet Street along Broadway.
“We hope customers take advantage of this pilot program so we can learn what we need to do to formally add scooters to our menu of services and to have scooters readily available to customers in
the near future,” CDTA CEO Carm Basile said in a recent press release.
CDTA also has a bicycle sharing program, CDPHP Cycle! which started in 2017.
“Change happens slowly,” said Brennan, “but we do see more bicycles, especially because CDTA has their bikeshare. You don’t go out without seeing people on bikes, but perhaps this was not the case a few years ago. The more you see cyclists on the road, the more people will respond to them.”
If enacted, the revisions would follow an ordinance passed last June that approved reducing the Albany speed limit citywide to 25 miles an hour, effective Jan. 1. According to Brennan, municipalities used to need permission from the state to set speed limits lower than 30 miles an hour; however, ABC and other interest groups were able to get that lowered to 25 miles an hour.
“When it comes to the amount of violence in a crash, there are only two factors, there is mass and there is velocity. Because of this, lowering the speed of vehicles significantly decreases their risk to everyone else,” said Brennan.
Majority leader Farrell said it is not exactly clear when the proposed ordinance will be finalized and put to a vote.
“Usually we look at one small thing and write legislation, and it’s not usual for us to write an entire section of code. That’s why it’s taking us a while too— because it’s not a little thing; it’s a huge big chunk, and to do this rightfully and thoughtfully, we can take a little more time,” Farrell said.
Farrell also said that with the Common Council in budget season, they have more pressing concerns than the traffic codes at the moment, but she still hopes that the legislation will be ready by the end of the year.
Brennan said that the goal is to create a network of transportation options that would allow people to live with fewer cars, making roads safer while sparing people the expenses that come with ownership.
“I still ride my bike most places, and the ability of me and my wife to live in a single-car household instead of a two-car one allowed us to retire early. The cost of maintaining a car is keeping people permanently in debt, so if people can avoid being a two-car family, they have a lot more choices in life.”
