Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

[Tri Girl]

Oh no! That's certainly not good news for large (or small) rides. I wonder what'll happen.

[Eden]

This raises a lot of questions in my mind. Can they actually ban it? One would think that as at its core even a large event, unless it involves closing of roads, is simply bicycles using the road, which doesn't require any special permits anywhere as far as I know. The county could choose to be extra strict about enforcing any laws that they have pertaining to bicycles, but I would expect that they could not outright ban bikes from the road on any day.

It also makes me wonder about the lawsuit, though that is a different matter all together. I think that if there was a dangerous condition caused by the county then it is perfectly reasonable that the county was sued (and in that case the acccident could have happened organized event or not, so there would be little reason to ban it). If the family simply sued the county because they had the best chance of getting money out of them...... but the article has far too little information to make a judgement about that.

[Grog]

I don't know about whether counties can do such a thing as "ban" the ride(s), but as an event organizer I know it's really hard to make such big events (and RAGBRAI is HUGE) without collaboration of all parties, including in this case folks responsible for the roads...

A really sad day indeed.

[Susan Otcenas]

Event are generally required to get permits. No permits. No events. Here in Oregon, it's my understanding that several bike race venues have been lost due to counties not issuing road use permits. All it takes is for a few citizens to complain about an event's participants (poor behavior, littering, peeing on somene's trees, etc.), and the next year it suddenly gets hard to get permits.

[Eden]

Races are a different story - in a race you actually do close roads (even if its a rolling enclosure it is technically closing the road) and control traffic at intersections. For that you definitely need permits. In a race as long as you are in the rolling enclosure you are not strictly bound to the rules of the road - you of course need to follow the instructions of the officals, but you don't have to stop at signals or stop signs if the lead car does not.

For an organized ride, if you are not closing roads then I'm not sure why any special permits would be required. There could be reasons beyond riding on the road that I don't know about, but if the riders are expected to follow all the regular traffic laws, then they aren't technically doing anything that they wouldn't be allowed to do on any day - there's just more of them.

[TracyinMesa]

All concerned parties are working to find a resolution to the ban which will be a "Win/Win" for everyone.

Ragbrai is big deal for Iowa, brings a lot of tourist dollars to the state. They will work this out.

( I will continue to post as new information is available.)

From the "Iowa State Association of Counties":

"Crawford County RAGBRAI Lawsuit

Crawford County Bans RAGBRAI
On the heels of the $350,000 settlement in the lawsuit arising from a RAGBRAI fatality, Crawford County passed a resolution on Tuesday prohibiting “RAGBRAI and any event of like kind and nature” from using Crawford County secondary roads.

ISAC is advising counties to hold off on passing a similar resolution right now. This topic, including the pros and cons of such a resolution, will be fully discussed at the ISAC Fall School. Supervisors President Harlan Hansen has put it on the supervisors’ agenda for the roundtable discussion at the ISAC Fall School on Friday, November 30.

Among the items to be discussed at that time will be:

Whether counties have the authority to pass such a resolution in the first place;
Whether Iowa law recognizes the concept in the resolution of “intended” and “permissive” uses of the roadway;
Whether a resolution is even legally binding;
Whether this resolution sends the right message to the Legislature;
Whether a county could be violating the First Amendment rights of county residents by adopting such a resolution; and
Whether a resolution such as this could face a challenge as being too vague or overly broad.
You have time. The RAGBRAI route is not finalized until early 2008."


"Bicycle death prompts discussion of legislation
(posted 11/21/2007) View all News Items
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By KEN FUSON • Register Staff Writer • November 20, 2007

State lawmakers likely will be asked next year to consider legislation that would protect counties from liability lawsuits related to annual bicycling events such as RAGBRAI and BRR.

Sixteen people, representing state and county officials, bicycle clubs and event promoters met Monday in Des Moines to discuss the Crawford County Board of Supervisors' decision to ban the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa in that county.

Last month's action came after the county paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the widow of a RAGBRAI rider who died in 2004 after hitting a crack in a Crawford County road and being thrown from his bicycle.

Crawford County officials attended Monday's meeting, which lasted more than two hours and was closed to reporters.

The group appointed a subcommittee that will draft legislation to address the concerns of counties as well as bikers, said David Vestal, general counsel for the Iowa State Association of Counties.

Vestal said he has spoken to representatives of eight to 10 other Iowa counties who are interested in enacting a ban similar to that imposed by Crawford County. The association has advised those counties to wait to see whether a solution can be reached.

"We told them if you're going to do something like Crawford County, wait and see if we can get a fix first," Vestal said.

Vestal said everyone involved at Monday's meeting wanted annual events like RAGBRAI and BRR (Bike Ride to Rippey) to continue. He said Crawford County officials said they would welcome RAGBRAI back if their liability concerns were addressed.

T.J. Juskiewicz, RAGBRAI's director, said the challenge will be to draft legislation that would ease county fears while still respecting the rights of bicyclists.

"I can see where they're coming from," he said of Crawford County officials. "They had their points to make. They wanted to make sure something like this wouldn't happen again in the future."

The issue is expected to be addressed when the county association holds its annual conference with supervisors on Nov. 30. Questions remain whether Crawford County can legally enforce a ban on bicycling events.

Reporter Ken Fuson can be reached at (515) 284-8501 or kfuson@dmreg.com"

Link to the a ride in protest of the banned ride:

http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/calendar...u&eventtype=37