Cycling advocates will express their concerns over the state’s bicycle laws with Capitol lawmakers today as part of a statewide bike summit held by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.
Tuesday will be the third time the non-profit federation has hosted the bike summit, and event organizers are expecting some 400 to 500 riders from all across Wisconsin to attend.
Federation Assistant Director Amanda White said an important aspect of the summit was lobbying lawmakers. Three items the federation has in its sights are Gov. Scott Walker’s decision to eliminate all money from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Fund, modifying bicycle access to land acquired through the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program and vulnerable user legislation that would provide harsher penalties to motorists who injure or kill cyclists.
White said some motorists involved in automobile-bicycle accidents get away with a simple fine.
“There was an accident in the last year where someone was killed and the motorist was only fined,” White said. “We feel there need to be more penalties, like safe driving classes. Causing death or injury is a serious situation and we want to make sure that there is a proper and fair penalty.”
Samuel Weirick, 20, struck and killed Brett Netke, 42, while Netke was biking on Highway 18 in the Village of Summit on Father’s Day last year. Weirick received a $114 fine for driving too close to Nedtke – Wisconsin law demands a three-foot buffer zone – and a one-year license suspension because the crash caused a death, but no further criminal charges were issued.
University of Wisconsin Cycle Club members knew Netke, club President Ken Huxtable said. Not speaking on behalf of the cycle club, Huxtable said he would be supportive of the vulnerable user legislation the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation will be lobbying for during Tuesday’s summit.
“By upping the fine or even bringing more media attention to things like this will help,” Huxtable said. “I’ve seen cars passing sometimes only inches from a biker. It’s really scary, a car moving at a high rate of speed going inches from your body.”
Although Huxtable said he sees problems and accidents arising from both motorists and cyclists, he added it is not hard for a car or driver to move over into the other lane to pass a cyclist.
Huxtable said the bicycle federation’s summit was good for identifying cyclists’ needs and acting upon them. He attributed two past laws to federation lobbying – legislation providing cyclists more protections from persons in parked cars opening their doors and striking a biker and mandatory bike shoulders on all roads repaved by the state.
Alongside vulnerable user laws, the federation is also looking to challenge Walker’s decision to eliminate $5.5 million for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Fund, effectively zeroing out the program. Huxtable said he could imagine the cut looks easy to make on paper, but there would be real-life consequences.
“My personal feeling is that cutting any funds that are there to build eco-friendly, people-friendly, exercise-friendly routes is a real cut to the quality of life of the people of Wisconsin,” Huxtable said.
