Oregon bicycle owners beware!

[Aint Doody]

Well, my blood is boiling. A cyclist-hating state representative in Oregon is sponsoring a bill to initiate the registration of bicycles. They want to charge the same fee for registering a bicycle as to register a vehicle. You won't believe this:

http://bikeportland.org/2009/03/06/m...em/#more-15779

I've emailed these guys sponsoring this bill as well as my state representative.

[uforgot]

That could get pretty expensive if you have multiple bikes. Also, like some of them said, do you have serial numbers on handmade bikes?

[SadieKate]

So your 10 year old rides a handmedown bike to school. He better start saving his pennies now - and he'll get an early indoctrination into the ways of the DMV.

[jobob]

How absurd. Good luck getting that thing struck down.

[smilingcat]

Don't take this lightly. Smack it down before it gets any sort of life. I've been getting involved with advocacy for few things. And one thing I'm finding out is that don't take it for granted.

Start a letter writing and phone calling effort now and put a stop to it immediately. See what happened to prop 8 in California.

I know Portland is really bike friendly and bike-centric. Just don't be complacent about the whole thing. And don't assume someone else will carry your banner.

smilingcat

[Tuckervill]

Registering bikes is nothing new, really. I have two bikes in my garage from 1974, and they both have bike license plates on them from the city of Denver, with the date and everything, all official. In my small town in Illinois, our bikes were registered with the police department, in case of theft. It didn't cost anything.

I question the cost in the bill proposed, and we sure don't want that kind of thing to spread around. But I do have to ask, since Oregon has so many facilities for bikes (lanes and paths), who does pay for all that if not cyclists? I realize that many cyclists also drive cars and pay property taxes that probably pay for bike lanes. I think it's a valid question.

The former trooper does seem to have an axe to grind, though.

Karen

[SadieKate]

Licensing bikes is one thing. $54 for each and every bike bike without regard is another. A contact at a LBS just emailed me and said it does look like the bill is going down in flames but I haven't done any research on it myself.

Of course, Oregon is also proposing raising beer taxes 1900%. That ought to be good for our local small breweries.

Apparently, moderation is not in our reps vocabulary.

Sort of like requiring ethanol in our gasoline, which means our fuel mileage has gone down and our gas consumption has gone up.

[SadieKate]

But I do have to ask, since Oregon has so many facilities for bikes (lanes and paths) . . .

It depends on where you are in Oregon.

[ilima]

I question the cost in the bill proposed, and we sure don't want that kind of thing to spread around. But I do have to ask, since Oregon has so many facilities for bikes (lanes and paths), who does pay for all that if not cyclists? I realize that many cyclists also drive cars and pay property taxes that probably pay for bike lanes. I think it's a valid question.

There is a misconception that tag fees are funneled directly back to roads. They're not. Money for roads and bike lanes comes from general funds and often from the federal government.

It's beneficial for drivers (at least that don't like being stuck in traffic) to have as many people moved to the bike lanes as possible.

Bikes lanes benefit everybody, not just those that actually ride a bike on them.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, because ODOT needs more things to do?! Seriously - they'd be up to their ears in transferring licences every time a bike was sold! My husband alone would keep them hopping with the rate at which he buys and sells bikes!

And how would they 1)enforce this? and 2) determine what qualifies as a bike? I mean, we've got enough extra parts in our garage to form a couple of whole road-worthy bikes....but they are just parts now. Would they require us to register frames? Or only whole bikes?

The bill is stupid, but seeing as how there is such a push to tax the number of miles people drive (instead of the gas they use), I wouldn't be surprised if we see this type of proposal come up again and again as a way to make money for the state.

[SadieKate]

Would I have to send photos of a bike frame up on blocks in my front yard? Perhaps surround it with beer cans?

[Aggie_Ama]

Would I have to send photos of a bike frame up on blocks in my front yard? Perhaps surround it with beer cans?

lmao!!

Seriously, we have a hardtail that DH won't sell because one day we might make it race worthy again. It won't shift but it does have wheels. Then I have two bikes and he has three others rideable. And according to him we "need" more bikes. Don't let our Texas lawmakers get wind of this, they aren't friendly to cyclists and I am sure would love to charge us somehow.

[SadieKate]

Then I have two bikes and he has three others rideable.

Wuss. You aren't even trying.

[Aggie_Ama]

Wuss. You aren't even trying.

I am completely open to expanding the fleet. My checkbook laughs at my imagination.