article + my thoughts here

Also I dont want to be disrespectful to the councilmans brother, but I question the way in which the accident occured, id like to hear the details. Sounds to me like kids riding toward eachother on a sidewalk and not on opposite sides of the street as they should be.

I had been asking Bexley to make some changes to their bicycle ordinances (to remove their mandatory sidepath ordinance, remove their requirement to walk bicycles across a through street and prohibit sidewalk cycling in the business district), so when I heard that they passed a helmet law, I thought maybe they also made the other changes in their ordinances. When I asked city attorney Lou Chodosh if they made the other changes, he replied that they “will not be making any changes to their bicycle laws for the forseeable future… we are happy with our laws as they exist”.

Hmm, no changes to their bicycle laws yet they passed a helmet law?

When I ride in Bexley in the future, I will walk my bike across through streets, as fast as my bicycle and myself are capable (my bicycle and I don’t walk very fast). If anyone wants to ride/walk two abreast with me, that would be legal, too. I just don’t think I could go so far to ride on the sidewalk in the business district, I’d probably get struck by lightening by the bicycle Gods.

Here is the text of the new helmet ordinance. Note that there is no provision that failure to use a helmet should not be admissable as evidence of negligence in a court of law. So when helmetless Janey or Johnny get injured or killed by a motorist, lawyers like Huey will get the motorist off with a slap on the wrist.

474.02(j)

1. No person under the age of sixteen (16) shall operate a bicycle on a city street, alley or sidewalk unless wearing a protective helmet on the persons head. The helmet shall conform to the regulations prescribed by the laws of the State of Ohio.
2. No parent or legal guardian shall permit said person to operate a bicycle without a protective helmet.
3. Whoever violates paragraph (2) of this section shall be fined not more than twenty five dollars ($25.00); however said violation shall not be considered a criminal offense.

ugh. I ride from powell through bexley and back everyday, I had no idea about the laws there.

can you clarify what the “walk bike on through streets” means and the “no cycling in business district” would that be around say main and cassidy? or say broad and james? I havent had a bexley PD officer say anything about my cycling habits through there, and I dont want it to happen, but im not walking my bike when I can just as easily ride in the street like im supposed to as defined by the O.R.C.

also, glad to see the hypocritical attorney is living up to the bad rep politicans deserve.

These are the changes I asked them to make. The ones crossed out are ones I asked to remove, and the new one would be to prohibit cycling on sidewalks in the business district. I hope they are legible. There are more bicycle ordinances in Bexley, but these are the ones I asked them to change.

474.07 SAFE RIDING REGULATIONS FOR BICYCLES.

 (a) Whenever a designated usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a street, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the street.

(b) Whenever a person is riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk or street or in a public

park, such person shall yield the right of way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before attempting to overtake and pass a pedestrian or another bicycle. This audible signal must be given only by bell or other warning device capable of giving an audible signal and shall be given at such a distance and in such a manner as not to startle the person being overtaken and passed.

  (c) No person shall ride a bicycle across or through any intersection involving a through street. Such intersections are to be crossed by walking the bicycle across or through the intersection.

(c) No person shall operate a bicycle upon a sidewalk within a business district or upon a sidewalk where signs are erected prohibiting such operation.

You won’t get a ticket for riding in the street in Bexley. I spoke with their police chief Rinehart and he said he would not ticket a cyclist for violating the two ordinances. The only sidepath in Bexley is next to St. Charles prep school and the nearest street is Nelson Rd in Columbus which doesn’t have a mandatory sidepath law. He said he wouldn’t ticket someone for riding through an intersection if they weren’t causing a problem. I believe that ordinance is targeted to sidewalk cyclists, but it doesn’t say that. I interpret it to mean if you were on the sidewalk on a side street, you should walk across a major street (like Main or Broad). I just thought those two ordinances should be removed, but they didn’t agree with me. Whatever.