Maryland legislative changes
This is paraphrased from a posting on MoBikes (Montgomery Co. Bike Advocates):
Today was the final day of the 2010 Maryland legislative session.
FOUR significant Bike/Ped/Transportation bills passed! The following bills are on the way to the Governor's Office for his signature:
· SB624 - Shoulder Rule bill
· SB51 - 3 Foot bill
· HB 1155 - Transportation Transparency bill
· HB 282 - Funding for Bike/Ped Access bill
Among the best news of all is the passage of SB 624. The final reading of the bill is located here:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/bills/sb/sb0624t.pdf
The bill removes the requirement that bicyclists must ride on the shoulder if there is one (except where the speed limit is 55 mph or higher). This has been something advocates have fought very hard to change for several years. No longer will bicyclists be required to ride in shoulders, which can have suddenly varying width and conditions and are not designed with bicyclists in mind and in fact follow no standards whatsoever. Maryland's mandatory shoulder use requirement was one of the worst parts of the law for bicyclists. The requirement to ride in bike lanes when present (with the usual exceptions) remains, but changing that would've been several times more difficult and the law can continue to improve as we move forward. The successes came about through a fortuitous set of circumstances including some new legislators (especially Delegate Al Carr), greater experience on the part of advocates, and the support folks who made their voices heard and helped out.
Any and all bills below can be found using this page:
http://mlis.state.md.us/index.html#bill
In the search box type "SB51" to indicate Senate Bill 51, "HB1155" for House Bill 1155, etc.
