The in basket: Kelli Lambert says in an e-mail, “I am wondering about the routing of bike traffic when the bikes off-load from the ferry (in Bremerton). I drop my husband off around 7 a.m. for the 7:20 ferry, and quite often the stream of bikes (which my husband and I refer to as the ‘Tour de France’) comes riding past me very close on the driver’s side, against the one-way traffic.
“The other day they all started whizzing across First Street and a Kitsap Transit bus came awfully close to hitting one. It’s dark and congested at that time of day.
“I assume many of the bicyclists are going to the shipyard for work. What is the actual route they are supposed to take? And does the Bremerton Police enforce it at all?” she asked.
The out basket: I get many complaints of this kind, bicyclists using their smaller size and mobility to do things cars aren’t physically able to, whether it’s legal or not.
In this case, it’s not. Lt. Pete Fisher of Bremerton police says, “Bicyclists on the roadway must obey the rules of the road, the same as a vehicle. This includes traveling the right way on one-way streets. This has been an ongoing issue that we have tried to address and will continue to address.”
Oddly, these bikers can get away with what they are doing if they stay out of the roadway, use the sidewalk and don’t endanger any pedestrians while so doing. Permission to ride on sidewalks, cautiously, is the main exception to the rule Pete states about bicyclist’s having to obey the rules of the road.
Otherwise, they should do what cars do, go around the block to get to the shipyard in the traffic lanes.
My husband rides a bike onto the ferry in the morning, and has often been very annoyed by this behavior. He’ll enjoy hearing it called the Tour de France! He feels that this kind of inconsiderate, illegal, and dangerous endangers HIM by increasing car drivers’ resentment against cyclists. I wish we could hope for some serious enforcement of the law by the BPD – a few dozen citations one morning might cause some cyclists to reconsider their favored shortcut to work.
In the article it is mentioned that bicycles can ride on sidewalks, but doesn’t WAC 308-330-555 “Bicycles – Riding on sidwalks” apply and prohibit riding bicycles upon sidewalks withn a business district?
The WAC 308-330 is essentially a reference guide. Not sure if Bremerton adopted these as local ordinances.
http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-330-005
So happy and relieved to see this being addressed. It’s a very dangerous situation, every morning. Thanks Kelli.