Officials drop fight to block bicyclists on county roads

A battle between bicycle enthusiasts and Iowa counties over the right to ride on county roads appears to be over.

The Iowa State Association of Counties has dropped its push for state legislation and county ordinances aimed at regulating bicycle riders, said David Vestal, the association’s lawyer. Concessions by The Des Moines Register involving the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa addressed the issue, he explained.

“My message to the counties is that RAGBRAI has always been the focus of our attention, and that problem has seemingly been resolved,” Vestal said. This includes decisions by RAGBRAI officials to rewrite waivers signed by bicycle riders, and to purchase liability insurance that covers counties along statewide route, he added.

The issue has simmered since Crawford County paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who died in 2004 while participating in RAGBRAI. He was thrown from his bicycle after hitting a gap along a downhill stretch of road.

The State Association of Counties lobbied for state legislation earlier this year that would have barred bicycle riders from collecting damages from counties and cities for most accidents, but it failed to win approval. The association then urged county officials statewide to adopt tough ordinances to regulate organized bicycle rides.

RAGBRAI Director T.J. Juskiewicz said in a statement today that the RAGBRAI participant waiver was strengthened in 2006 to provide more protection to counties involved. During this year’s RAGBRAI, at the request of several counties on the route, RAGBRAI named each county as an additional insured party.

“RAGBRAI looks forward to continuing its great relationship with the counties and towns that help make RAGBRAI so successful,” Juskiewicz said.

In Hardin County, the Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance in July that declared the county’s roads are not designed for bicycles. Groups of 10 or more bicylists must obtain at least $1 million in liability insurance, and they can be fined $750 for first-time offenses.

The supervisors will meet in Eldora on Tuesday to consider repealing the ordinance, said Hardin County Supervisor Jim Johnson. He acknowledged the ordinance has been unpopular with bicycle riders, but he said county officials were concerned about protecting county taxpayers.

“If RAGBRAI has this covered, then we are satisified,” Johnson said.

The Dallas County Board of Supervisors considered a similar proposal in June, but it was shelved amid stiff opposition from bicyclists. They said it would hinder cycling clubs and charity fundraisers that couldn’t afford $1 million in liability coverage.

Mark Wyatt of North Liberty, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, a bicycle advocacy group, said bicycle liability lawsuits in Iowa are extremely rare. The lawsuit involving the 2004 fatality was the only known case involving a single bicylist in the past 36 years.

Wyatt strongly objects to the Hardin County ordinance, claiming it “obliterates recreation, tourism and economic development” in the county. “What this ordinance does is insult anyone who chooses to travel by bicycle, yet pays the same taxes as any other roadway user,” he said.

Source: DesMoinesRegister.com