Utah Legislature passes bill that prohibits drivers from blocking bike lanes.
Get Off My Lane
By Benjamin Wood @BjaminWood
CAPITOL HILL—A bill creating a statewide standard that drivers are not allowed to block bike lanes passed the Utah Legislature on Friday and is headed to Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature or veto.
After passing the House in a 61-10 vote in early February, members of the Utah Senate gave a final vote of 16-8 to pass HB290 outright, after its Senate sponsor offered repeated assurances that no member voting in the affirmative could be reasonably accused of supporting bike lanes as a matter of street and roadway design.
"You can not like bike lanes and still agree that people shouldn’t park in them," Weiler said. "You can not like bike lanes and still support the bill."
Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, was skeptical of the bill, suggesting the issue of drivers obstructing cycling paths was exclusive to the more urban areas of the state.
"We don’t have bike lanes in rural Utah," Owens said. He ultimately voted in favor of HB290's passage.
Many areas of rural Utah do, in fact, have cycling lanes. More areas of rural Utah have cyclists, despite there being little to no safe facilities for those cyclists to use. And even more areas of rural Utah have people who don't consider themselves to be cyclists, but who would likely take advantage of safe cycling facilities if such were to be developed near their homes and places of business.
But rather than wrestle with those thorny issues of induced demand in the built environment and the way government policy and investment use taxpayer dollars to manipulate and alter the choices individual consumers make around housing and transportation—Weiler instead reiterated that bike lanes kinda suck, but that it's probably best if drivers don't park their cars in them.
"I think it's legitimate to complain about a bike lane," Weiler said. "We’re not endorsing bike lanes, we’re not promoting them."
About The Author
Benjamin Wood
Lifelong Utahn Benjamin Wood has worn the mantle of City Weekly's news editor since 2021. He studied journalism at Utah State University and previously wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News and Entertainment Weekly
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