RFS 12618 assigned. If received outside of normal business hours, we will investigate this issue on the next business day.

reopened

This looks like an issue that could be fixed with better bicycle infrastructure.

Such as education, registration and cycle insurance.

Or bike lanes...It sounds like someone is scared of the cyclists that when riding head on with traffic can see the cars clearly and thus have the onus of keeping clear. I think we should protect motorists from cyclists by giving cyclists their own lanes. (Most cyclists are registered automobile operators that should be insured privately or through the ACA) But full agreement on this one, everyone should be better educated!

This is a culture/education thing... need to apply peer pressure and/or, cite and fine cyclists for riding on the wrong side...

BTVHobbs, Where will the funds come from and where will the bike lane go?

We recommend you report specific incidents to the police department. We will pass on your concern to the police department but often the concern is better to be first hand from the witness.

Officers have openly admitted the difficulties ticketing cyclists.

My take on it is that people are trying to get where they are going in the safest way they can. Maybe they are not aware of the rules of the road. I also think it has a lot to do with inadequate infrastructure. Maybe people would bike in the legally correct lane if there were more and more convenient bike lanes. So if the guy wants everyone to follow the law, create safer roads = support bike infrastructure.

BTV, bicycle registration has never been a program that adds funds to the coffers; it costs more than it makes.

Wrong way riders are certainly a problem, especially for legally abiding people on bikes. Better infrastructure would help, as the most direct route to the Old North End and beyond from downtown is up North Winooski, which is why people are going the wrong way. If there was a dedicated bike lane on Elmwood, for example, You would probably see the bike salmoning stop overnight.

Perhaps, instead of spamming the city on this issue, you should be demanding better bicycle infrastructure such as I just described.

There is a dedicated bike lane on N. Union st that leads to the ONE.

Laxer: There is, and these people should be using it. Why aren't they? It's uphill from Church Street and perhaps out of the way from their homes in the ONE. If you were at the top of Church, it would mean riding up Pearl Street with no bike lane.

Heaven forbid no bike. You can get from church to union with minimal time on pearl st. Go up Clarke to Grant to Union. Sometimes the safest way isn't always quickest way. Not trying to start an argument just stating a simple fact

Toilet, its not about adding funds. Currently cyclists don't add funds at all. Agree, bike lanes would help, but who is going to come up with all the cash to support that. As a tax paying homeowner its slightly annoying to see bike lanes go up around a broken City. Currently you have a cycling community with a DPW director catering to them with no regard for what's actually occurring to aging Burlington.

Registration and Insurance is about holding cyclists accountable. Currently if a cyclist hits my car, what happens? If a cyclist runs a red light, there is no recourse. I'm not spamming the City. Calling the police is the only option right now, however nothing happens.

This content is currently blocked. The content is either under review by SeeClickFix or has been confirmed by SeeClickFix for violation(s) of SeeClickFix Terms of Use (https://www.civicplus.com/terms-of-service). Content that aligns with SeeClickFix Terms of Use will be posted, and content that does not align with our Terms of Use will not be permitted for public viewing.

This content is currently blocked. The content is either under review by SeeClickFix or has been confirmed by SeeClickFix for violation(s) of SeeClickFix Terms of Use (https://www.civicplus.com/terms-of-service). Content that aligns with SeeClickFix Terms of Use will be posted, and content that does not align with our Terms of Use will not be permitted for public viewing.

This content is currently blocked. The content is either under review by SeeClickFix or has been confirmed by SeeClickFix for violation(s) of SeeClickFix Terms of Use (https://www.civicplus.com/terms-of-service). Content that aligns with SeeClickFix Terms of Use will be posted, and content that does not align with our Terms of Use will not be permitted for public viewing.

TPHO; I'm sorry you feel cyclists don't pay into the cities infrastructure. Cyclists own houses, pay rent, own cars, buy groceries, shop at retail stores. They are very much like you and pay every little bit as much as you do. They just choose to use an alternative means of transportation around the city.

If a car an a cyclists have a collision there is someone at fault, get the police involved. If you are not at fault you have legal recourse for any damages that occur.

Laxer: if I were to tell you that you had to push your car past some obstruction, and then tell you that I'm not trying to start an argument, what would you think and say to all of that?

I thought I was clear, but maybe I wasn't: I don't ride the wrong way, ever. I see taking the longer route as a lengthening of my pleasant ride.

"Sometimes the safest way isn't always quickest way."
You are correct; I agree with you wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, there are others out there that don't seem to agree or at least understand this maxim. How can we make the roads work better for everyone?

I'm confused by your comparison in the first paragraph Toiletmanners but that's ok.

I never said you ride the wrong way so we can scratch that one.

Make the city better for everyone? That's a valid question and my best opinion is to have open forums with city officials, I believe the city does that I'm not positive. And have respectful conversations like this. If fellow bikers(I am not one) so other bikers not following the rules of the road maybe correct them. I don't know, may sound like a stupid option. Everybody, drivers included, follow simple road etiquette

The City has had open forums to develop the Bike/Walk Master plan (I'll put in a link below). It's been pretty interesting and these streets were discussing are in there.

And yeah, I personally tell people they are going the wrong way. They are putting me into danger too.

http://www.planbtvwalkbike.org/about-2/project-documents/

I don't like that they are not held to the same standards as vehicles. Tax money goes towards a group in town and they are not enforced. When asked to be enforced, nothing is done, but they want more infrastructure. If enforced, there are no repercussions. Its annoying.

I am happy to see cyclists on the road, just respect other people. I'm only recommending sort sort of way to incorporate accountability, register, insure, and educate. Why is that a problem?

Have you ever followed the legal recourse in this situation?

BTVtaxpayinghomeowner, I have to assure you that, although my user name doesn't explicitly state it, I do pay taxes on the vehicle and house that I own.

So yeah, I want my taxes to go to safer streets, which includes bike lanes. Have you considered that Burlington's infrastructure was never designed for cars? And that the city should cater to bicycles because it is the most efficient way to get people around in a dense city with narrow streets?

Registration and insurance is simply not the law. You are welcome to lobby for it, and if you succeed, I will gladly register and insure my bicycle. But if that's the case, the roads better be a lot more efficient and safe than they are.

I think that you and I want the same things: people on bikes riding correctly and safely, as well as people driving not running everyone else over. I think that road configuration is the solution, and I hope that you will come to see the same thing.

Why would we hold the same standards to two very different kinds of vehicles (cars and bicycles)? The reason why cars are registered and insured is that they can cause massive amounts of damage very easily. A person on a bicycle might scratch and dent your car, but it is highly improbable that they will kill anyone.

I have had to get legal recourse from a driver that drove so carelessly he caused a collision. I was lucky to be unhurt, but he was allowed to keep his license.

I really do agree with your spirit here; people on bikes should be respectful and follow the law. I think where we deviate is that the scofflaw cyclists that we are seeing going the wrong way aren't going to register and insure their bikes either. The Police are overburdened as it stands now. I believe the best long-term solution to this problem is to build the roads better so that it's easier to follow the laws.

Cyclists want to be treated as another vehicle on the road, want respect on the road, and their own lanes. I think both cars and bikes should be enforced. A cyclist can scratch or dent a car, or be the cause of a serious accident. A car can also cause significant damage when avoiding a scofflaw cyclist. Are you suggesting that cyclists cant cause significant damage?

Ive had legal recourse against a driver as well. Legal recourse against a cyclist; might as well forget any compensation, no insurance. Civil action against someone is not fun, nor guaranteed. There are plenty of drivers who don't have licenses, registration, or insurance, but we still require it by law.

Shouldn't we fix the aging infrastructure that is under the road before designing better roads? What is DPW's priority? Why create the perfect cycling utopia when we have to tear it all up to fix water main breaks?

Issue 2637530 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 2706101 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 2612405 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 2564370 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Civil action because your car got scratched is not fun at all. I just find it difficult to commiserate (although I should) when there are people out there being struck by incompetent drivers and experiencing bodily harm.

"There are plenty of drivers who don't have licenses, registration, or insurance, but we still require it by law." This is my point; you are for expanding these programs for other road users like bicyclists, but are admitting that the much more dangerous car driver may likely not be registered, licensed, and insured. Why are we letting people drive cars on the roads who don't take the responsibility seriously?

Can't DPW have more than one priority? Can they replace aging water mains and then restructure the road when they are done? In fact, I think they have many priorities to juggle, including building safe roads for everyone.

DPW and the Commission have done a great job of providing bicycle infrastructure here. If you don't think so, take your bike to any comparable sized city in New England. Try to bike around Bangor for example... you will appreciate what has been done here so far.

While more can be done, there are limits to what can physically be accomplished before there are conflicting priorities... bake path or greenbelt? etc...

The OpenStreets idea is very nice, but since CCTA is poorly run our public transport infrastructure is completely lacking... it barely works as is.... there is no way to support the eventual goal of OpenStreets, which is to eliminate cars in city centers or entire municipalities. It's just a feel-good project until there is serious discussion about vast improvements to public transport, including a real plan for regional rail and local "trolley car" service, etc.

Brushing off this person's experience of bike riders is unproductive and disingenuous.

Despite the great expense and effort put forth by the community to provide better bike infrastructure for the last 10 years, bicyclists regularly violate the law, and dangerously so. You may think it shouldn't be the law to stop at a stop sign on a bike, but right now it is, and not coming to a full stop is illegal, therefore not predictable, consequently is dangerous. This works for all traffic laws relevant to bikes. The laws are there to increase the predictability of movements of cars, bikes, pedestrians, etc., and violating those laws just increases the likelyhood someone will be hurt or killed. And it's likely the fault of the bicyclist who didn't stop, squeezed by when there was no bike lane, moved unpredictably back and forth from road to sidewalk and back, etc...

Whoever made this report is a member of this community who deserves to be heard just like everyone else, and his point is valid: there is an almost complete lack of enforcement of traffic law violations by bicyclists.

Now, that said, is there a way to assign SCF tix to the Burlington Police Department?

Otherwise, all DPW can do is promise to educate bicyclists on the law, which does also seem to be an activity that has been missing.

Can we hear from DPW and BPD on this in this forum, please?

"Brushing off this person's experience of bike riders is unproductive and disingenuous."

Just to be completely clear, I'm not brushing off the Poster's experience. Bike salmon is a legitimate and serious issue that can cause injury and property damage.

"Despite the great expense and effort put forth by the community to provide better bike infrastructure for the last 10 years, bicyclists regularly violate the law, and dangerously so."

You should probably at least add the qualifier, "some bicyclists." You are saying that all bicyclists violate the law. You want to know how many times I've rode the wrong way on North Winooski? 0. Don't try to marginalize a whole type of transportation by a few scofflaws.

"And it's likely the fault of the bicyclist who didn't stop, squeezed by when there was no bike lane, moved unpredictably back and forth from road to sidewalk and back, etc..."

A study in 2014 in Vancouver shows that 93% people on bikes had the Right-Of-Way in bike/car collisions where Right-Of-Way could be determined. So, according to this data, it is not likely the fault of the bicyclist. Source:
http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2015/05/12/vancouver-drivers-at-fault-in-93-of-collisions-with-bicycles-city-report.html

On the other hand, drivers regularly speed (for example) in spite of constant enforcement, registration, and insurance, so clearly applying these "solutions" won't fix the problem of a small contingent of scofflaw bicyclists. But if we build roads so that it wasn't feasible to speed, then drivers probably wouldn't speed. This logic works the same for people on bicycles; build roads where following the laws is safe and makes sense, and people will use the roads sensibly and safely.

I don't believe anyone has suggested that we "open" whole streets like the way you are describing. But I do think you are correct; more transportation choices and infrastructure would do a lot of good, including a light rail trolley system.

Issue 3074645 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 2907298 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 2698528 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

All bicycle or traffic violations in progress should be directed to the police department at the time of the incident.

I have spoken to three difference Burlington Police officials regarding bicycle violations reports made on SeeClickFix. The consensus is that anyone concerned about the violation by the bicyclist or traffic safety for vehicles and bicycles should call the police and give them a description at the time of the incident.

The police department contact number is 658-2704 ext. 0 to make such a report. If there is an emergency dial 911 and make your report.

The supervisor for traffic safety at Burlington Police Department is Lieutenant Jon Young. I let him know about of each of the issues reported on SeeClickFix regarding bicycle violations.

If you have specific question or an area concerns regarding traffic safety you can contact Lt. Young at jyoung@bpdvt.org to ask him directly.

PLEASE do not e-mail him with reports in progress. If you see something that needs immediate attention like a bicycle traffic safety/motor vehicle violation, call 658-2704 ext. 0 to make such a report. If there is an emergency dial 911 and make your report.