[UPDATE AFTER THE 3/24 PUBLIC HEARING: The Board tabled the vote. It would like to work out a few more details and clean up some of the wording before finalizing the legislation. Most notably, there was a discussion about allowing e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks, since riders would have to operate them within the same speed and yielding guidelines as regular bike riders. We will update you with any changes to the proposed legislation and when a public hearing is scheduled for the updated legislation.]
The Board of Trustees has been working on updating its proposed legislation that originally banned bike riding for anyone over the age of 12 on the Village sidewalks. That legislation went before a public hearing on February 10th (you can see our recap here), where the board heard many comments from the public expressing concern for the lack of safe biking infrastructure in the Village and the need to rely on the sidewalk. The board tabled the vote to continue to discuss and work on the legislation.
At the March 10 Board of Trustees meeting, the board voted to move the more reasonable updated legislation to a public hearing on March 24th at 6:30PM. You can see the new proposed legislation in the meeting packet (scroll the page 37). You can watch the discussion about the legislation from that meeting here at the 11:50 mark.
The mayor has underscored several times: “At the end of the day, this is about safety on our sidewalks.”
The board acknowledged that this updated legislation gives the Village somewhere to start, with regards to making sidewalks safer for pedestrians. It gives guidelines for those bike riders who aren’t confident enough or don’t feel safe enough to ride in the road, underscoring that pedestrians have priority. And it provides a launching point for better education around biking in the Village (and in general), as the Village works to develop its bike boulevards and signage to help bike riders navigate around our major and busiest roads.
The main discussion points of the updated legislation:
- Will e-bikes and e-scooters be allowed? No. Although NY State traffic law prohibits the use of e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks, municipalities in New York can choose to allow them by writing them into local laws. (The City of Rochester, for example, allows them.) The board unanimously agreed to not allow them on Village sidewalks.
- What is considered walking speed? The legislation indicates 4 MPH as walking speed and that no person operating a bike, scooter, skateboard or skates on the sidewalk should exceed that speed (regardless if there is a pedestrian present).
- Within how many feet of a pedestrian should a bike rider dismount? After the Feb 10th hearing, the board initially added a 15 foot dismount requirement when a pedestrian is present as a compromise to banning bike riding altogether on any Village sidewalk. It was an arbitrary number someone suggested, so the board raised the dismount requirement to 20 feet to allow more reaction time for a bike rider to stop.
- Should the legislation require EVERYONE to wear a helmet when riding a bike? NY State law says everyone under the age of 16 is required to wear a helmet. Acknowledging that it is best practice to wear a helmet, some of the board wanted to require it for everyone. Others wanted to simply align with NY State law. They decided on the latter with anyone under the age of 16.
- Where will it be mandatory to dismount a bike? Bikers riders on sidewalks will be required to dismount in the Traditional Downtown District (TDD) and Schoen Place (MU-EC) areas. Schoen Place is already a mandatory dismount area; so that is not new. The street itself is a bike boulevard, with several speed cushions and lots of activity which help keep drivers’ speed low. If a bike rider chooses to stay on the canal path or sidewalk instead of the bike boulevard, that rider must walk the bike between the N. Main Street and State Street bridges. Only the Traditional Downtown District (TDD) will be added to the dismount areas in this legislation. That’s the red striped area clustered around the 4 Corners in the zoning map below.
Some are unhappy about the compromises in lieu of a ban altogether. They say this is no longer a pedestrian safety initiative and is instead bicycle convenience legislation. They are concerned that our most vulnerable pedestrians are in danger of being injured, and that is a valid concern. We feel calling it bicycle convenience legislation simplifies it too much. Would it be better if the Village had safe bike infrastructure and/or traffic conditions that were tame enough to allow bike riders to safely ride on the street so they wouldn’t need to ride on sidewalks? Absolutely. Are sidewalks the domain of the pedestrian? Absolutely. Revisiting sidewalk use once we have safer infrastructure options for everyone outside of a motor vehicle seems reasonable. In the meantime, pursuing changes that impact traffic conditions on our streets is the best path to a safer village. Let’s continue to work as a Village on opportunities for traffic calming, which benefit all users of our streets. Recent wins for the Village are the bump-outs on S. Main Street and in front of the library, the pedestrian refuge in front of the Del Monte/Pittsford Dairy, narrowed fog lines on our main roads, the rapid flashing beacon on the N. Main Street bridge, the additional crosswalks at the Village boundaries, and leading pedestrian intervals at the 4 Corners.
Examples of some things listed in the Active Transportation Plan that have yet to be realized (despite the Village board advocating for years with NYSDOT) that would come at little cost: additional crossings at the Erie Canal Trail/State Street junction and in front of the Port of Pittsford Park; elimination of the right turn lanes on Main Street; shortening of the left southbound turning lane on N. Main at the 4 Corners; bike boulevards and accompanying wayfinding signage; and bus stop amenities (we are super happy the stop on Monroe in front of the Little House will FINALLY be getting a permanent bench soon).
If you’d like to provide the Village Board with comments on the updated sidewalk legislation, please send them to the Village Clerk. And if you’d like to attend the public hearing on March 24th at 6:30, you can do so in-person or via Zoom.