Last night, the Hudson City Council passed a new set of bicycle laws to replace their outdated ordinance. So now, in the Hudson city limits you can use your right arm to signal a right turn. Parked drivers need to check for traffic before opening their door. You ride where you need to in the lane. Your brakes no longer need to skid to prove they are working. If you get a ticket for not having a light, you can return it as a fix-it ticket. Cars must yield if you are using the crosswalk on a bicycle. You can use an e-bike anywhere you can use a regular bike.
But one of the biggest changes is drivers must change lanes to pass bicycles.
The Iowa Bicycle Coalition completed a study and learned the 269 cities with bicycle ordinances need some updating. The Coalition’s government relations team crafted a model ordinance. Finally, members of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition gave their input with a rather techical survey. Then, Kate Wyatt from the Hudson City Council took the ordinance to the Hudson Public Safety Committee, who referred it for legal review, and then to the Hudson City Council who passed the ordinance.
1 passed, 268 city ordinances left to go.
This isn’t going to be easy. There will be a lot of work to get new laws passed all over Iowa. This is why we are going to work with our members and district leaders to move the model bike ordinance across the state. You can help our work on local bike laws by making a $26.80 donation for the 268 cities left to go.
