Call to Action: Email or Testify on LB 1071

Senator Lathrop of Omaha will be introducing LB 1071, which addresses issues involving bicyclists and road use, in front of the Transportation Committee on Tuesday, Feb 25th, at 1:30 PM in Room 1113 of the State Capitol. If you care about how bicyclists are treated in Nebraska, please either testify in person or email the members of the committee (info below).

bike-capitolHave you ever ridden your bike on one of Lincoln’s trails, and when it crossed a street, stayed on your bike and ridden through the crosswalk to the other side? Did you know that if you got hit by a car there, the driver wouldn’t be liable? The only way you’d have protections like a pedestrian would would be if you got off and walked at every intersection. That would be a considerable addition of time, particularly for commuters using bike paths that have lots of street crossings. Included in LB 1071 is language addressing this rather critical gap in safety for bicyclists. We think we made it to #1 in the nation in the National Commuter Challenge in part by promoting use of our great commuter trail system, and for it to be used efficiently and effectively, we don’t think it makes sense for cyclists to have to walk their bikes through every street crossing.

Also on the agenda is LB 756, which would help define e-Bikes as distinct from motorized vehicles such as mopeds.

Please help us support LB 1071. Please send an email NOW to the to the Chair, Senator Dubas, or to other members of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, expressing your support. If you’d like to testify, join others from Lincoln & Omaha tomorrow at 1:30 PM in Rm 1113. For more information on the bill, you may also contact Mike Abboud, who is assisting Senator Lathrop with the bill.