# Sausalito Bike Crackdown



## ronf100 (Jan 16, 2012)

URGENT! 
Attend TONIGHT's, May 12, Sausalito City Council Meeting to Oppose Anti-Bike Policies!
City of Sausalito: Special City Council Meeting

TONIGHT, Tuesday, May 12 

Meeting Starts: 7:00 PM (NOTE: bike parking/licensing item is at ~9:00 PM) 

City Hall, 420 Litho, Sausalito 


At tonight's, May 12, Sausalito City Council meeting, in an attempt to manage the high volume of visitors to the City by bike, the City Council is considering approving anti-bike policies that would have dramatic affect on ALL who bike within the City!

Actions currently under consideration by the City Council at tonight's, May 12, meeting include:

Remove free bike racks in Downtown designated "No Bike Parking" district and prohibit bike parking except in paid parking areas only (proposed $5 per bike)
Require mandatory licensing of all bicycles operating within the City
Issue citations and/or impound bicycles in non-compliance with #1 above (impound bike release fee of $100.00 and storage fee of $25.00 per day!) 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Attend and speak at tonight's, May 12, City Council meeting (for the first reading of the proposed ordinance) and urge the City Council to work directly with bike rental companies, MCBC and other stakeholders to help manage the impacts of bicycles and to resist taking draconian measures that will deter bicycling after significant strides have been made in Marin to encourage (not discourage) local trips by biking.

Attend and speak at next Tuesday's, May 19, City Council meeting (for the 2nd and final reading of the proposed ordinance).

Email the City Manager, Adam Politzer, and City Councilmembers expressing your opposition to the proposed ordinance, urging a more collaborative, stakeholder involved process to help address the City's concerns and needs. If you're a Sausalito resident, be sure to mention it!

Paid bike parking and bicycle licensing requirements would be inconvenient, onerous, would deter the casual rider, and would open the door for harassment of people on bikes that have otherwise done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, cities throughout the State are removing mandatory licensing requirements due to their anti-bike nature and unsustainable costs of implementation and enforcement. 



Attend tonight's City Council meeting to voice your concerns and opposition to the proposed bike parking and licensing policies. The meeting agenda can be found here. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you can make the meeting.
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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

if passed, there goes tourist $$$

in NJ, a state assembly-women tried the bike licensing money scheme, it didn't get too far.


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## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

ok, the visitors will drive their cars instead....................brilliant thinking.........


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## SPlKE (Sep 10, 2007)

What could possibly be so awful about bikes in Sausalito that is making city council so hostile toward them?


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

The volume of them. I don't think it's so much the tourists as it is the road bikers passing through to do routes like Paradise Loop. A lot may decide to stop in Sausalito for food and coffee, and while this should be plus for economic reasons, sometimes there are just tons and tons.

Probably getting complaints from residents and even businesses.


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## singlespeed.org (Feb 14, 2006)

Yes, it is the quantity of bikes that is causing issues. The road through Sausalito is pretty narrow to start with, and there are no real options (definitely not for bikes, long route around for cars) to take an alternate route. Add in a daily batch of a few hundred enthusiast cyclists (you and me), often not sharing the road like we should. And a few thousand tourists who haven't a clue (and often a camera on a selfie stick in one hand while riding). 

Looks like this meeting was a week ago. Anyone know the results?



ronf100 said:


> Require mandatory licensing of all bicycles operating within the City
> Issue citations and/or impound bicycles in non-compliance with #1 above (impound bike release fee of $100.00 and storage fee of $25.00 per day!)


I am not a lawyer, but I don't think this would be constitutional. The reason bikes are allowed on almost all roads (except when there is a reasonable alternative) is the public commerce part of the constitution. It has been determined that the government can't force you to use a certain form of transport, so if you want to ride a horse, bike, scooter, or whatever, they have to allow it. This is why we are allowed to cross the GG Bridge at any hour, and they have to provide shuttle service should the walkway be closed due to an event. 

This licensing sounds like it would fall under an unreasonable rule that was preventing transit, so I think would be found unlawful.

Changes to the parking likely would be legal.

In the end, the bike rental companies would likely just register all their bikes, so the bike licensing would only affect the recreational cyclists and thru-cyclists.


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

The entire state of Georgia tried the licensing and registration scheme. It was an economic failure. The added overhead of processing the new registrations dwarfed the revenue they received, and it discouraged cycling in general, so they canned the initiative.


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## singlespeed.org (Feb 14, 2006)

Update from Marin County Bicycle Coalition:
Sausalito Bike Parking Ordinance Update on Hold _NO NEED TO ATTEND Tues., May 19, Mtg.


SAUSALITO BIKE PARKING ORDINANCE WILL NOT BE ON TUESDAY, MAY 19, CITY COUNCIL AGENDA 
No need to attend Tuesday's meeting, but please stay tuned for future updates.


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## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

singlespeed.org said:


> Update from Marin County Bicycle Coalition:
> Sausalito Bike Parking Ordinance Update on Hold _NO NEED TO ATTEND Tues., May 19, Mtg.
> 
> 
> ...



This is so interestingly ironic to me. The "greenies" from San Francisco areas are trying to discourage people from being "green."


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