Support Biking and Walking in the Virginia General Assembly

URGENT! We expect a vote on these bills in the House of Delegates on 2/12. The three bills below have already made it out of the transportation committee.

The Virginia Bicycling Federation, a Coalition of bicycling advocates and organizations across the Commonwealth (including SVBC!), is supporting an ambitious bicycling safety agenda during this year’s legislative session that began January 10th. We’ve secured patrons for our bills, met with transportation leadership, and now we need to show the legislature just how many people are in our movement – will you join us in supporting a bicycling safety agenda?

The Virginia Bicycling Federation brings together bicycling advocates and organizations from across the Commonwealth to work towards changing public policy and community attitudes, to improve the safety, convenience, and acceptance of bicycling, and to promote bicycling for transportation, recreation, public health, and economic development.

In 2024, we will advocate for a comprehensive bicycling safety agenda that incorporates lessons from last year’s close legislative defeats. We worked with statewide agency staff and leaders throughout the year to address concerns and have secured patrons from across the Commonwealth who share a love of bicycling. Initiatives we are supporting include:

• Safety Stop. This measure, also known as the Idaho Stop or Delaware Yield, would allow a person riding a bicycle to slow and yield (rather than fully stop) at stop signs. That is, they may roll through the intersection if it is clear and safe to do so. Enacted in 9 other states and the District of Columbia and shown to improve safety outcomes, the Safety Stop enables people on bicycles to move more quickly through an intersection, reducing their exposure to vehicular traffic and increasing their visibility.
• Bike Safety Omnibus. This bill has two primary features: authorizing the Safety Stop (explained above) and allowing bicyclists to ride side-by-side when in a vehicle travel lane. Both improve visibility and, thus, safety. The bill would also clarify a driver’s responsibility to change lanes when passing a bicyclist when the lane is too narrow for the driver to pass the bicyclist safely.
• Bikes May Proceed on Walk Signal. At an increasing number of intersections in Virginia, pedestrians are given a 3- to 7-second ‘head start’ to begin crossing the street before the vehicle signal turns green (known as a leading pedestrian interval or LPI). LPIs allow better visibility and thus safety for pedestrians. This measure would enable people on bicycles to cross with the pedestrian WALK signal so as to benefit from the ‘head start’ and improved visibility at such signalized intersections.