[Vision2020] Critical Mass, A Public Menace! Inconvenient

[Philip Cook]

> Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:26:41 -0700
> From: Megan Prusynski <megan at meganpru.com>
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Critical Mass,	A Public Menace! Inconvenient
> 	Truth --       What WE gonna do
 
> Ted, I rode with Critical Mass several times when it was going on  
> (and I miss it, maybe we should bring it back!). I was on the ride  
> where a girl was arrested. She was 17. Her offense? The front tire of  
> her bike went about 4 inches over the bike lane line. We were on 6th  
> St. and the cops had forced us to ride in the bike lanes in one long  
> line.

Megan,

I am interested in learning more about this incident. The rider's offense could not have been riding with her bike tire 4 inches over the bike lane line. First, there is no law in Moscow nor Idaho requiring that a bike lane be used by a bicyclist if it is present. Second, violations of rules of the road are infractions, for which the alleged violator receives a ticket; they are not "arrested" (i.e., taken into custody). Please let us know what she was charged with., and how the charges were resolved.

I spend much of my public service time on Moscow's Transportation Commission and otherwise advocating for the rights and needs of bicyclists on Moscow's streets. I find this incident disturbing, but cannot take it up with the city's police and other officials without accurate information about what occurred.

Philip Cook
Moscow