[SDCBC] Returning Standards of Care to Bike Paths

[Jim Baross]

This is serious. CABO has raised and spent almost $100,000 on this 
fight. Please pass this around.

I have a MSWord version I could send as an attacment if anyone asks.

PRESS RELEASE: California, February 19, 2007

Bike Paths: Safe or Sorry? Los Angeles City's Bait and Switch

People injured on Bike Paths are being cheated out of the protections 
available to all Californians who are hurt on a public road, sidewalk 
or bike lane due to the negligence of a municipality. The public has 
been led to believe that Bike Paths (Class 1 bikeway transportation 
routes, paved and separated from car traffic) are built with safety 
in mind partly because California Highway Code establishes minimum 
safety standards for Bike Paths. But the reality is that 
municipalities such as the City of Los Angeles are hiding from their 
responsibility behind a claim that Bike Paths built for 
transportation are the same as unpaved trails opened for recreation. 
People are being baited by the promise of a safe Bike Path, but 
switched to the "ride at your own risk" exposure of an undeveloped trail.

The cycling community is fighting back. California bicyclists and 
three of the largest cycling organizations in the country, the 
California Association of Bicycling Organizations (CABO), the 
California Bicycle Coalition (CBC), and the national League of 
American Bicyclists (LAB) have rallied to bring an appeal of current 
court precedent. The appellate briefs in the appeal, Prokop v. City 
of Los Angeles et al have been filed with the California Court of 
Appeal. Oral argument in this case, Case: B184025 2nd District, 
Division 8, is scheduled for February 28, 2007 at the California 
Court of Appeal, Los Angeles.

The appellate briefs, two amicus curiae briefs submitted by the 
cycling community that were rejected by the courts without 
explanation, and other background information are available at 
<http://www.cabobike.org/Prokop.htm>www.cabobike.org/Prokop.htm.

Contacts

The following individuals are recommended and available regarding this appeal:
    * John Forester, America's preeminent cycling engineer - 619-644-5481
    * Jim Baross, CABO President - 619-280-6908; cell 619-980-5752
    * Alan Wachtel, CABO Government Relations Chair - 650-494-7520
    * Amanda Eichstaedt, LAB, President & West Coast Representative - 
415-663-1777.
Karen Coffin-Brant, Esq., appellate attorney for the plaintiff, can 
be reached at 661-964-7880.

Contributions to the legal defense fund, "Returning Standards of Care 
to Bike Paths" may be sent to:  CABO c/o Alan Forkosh, 33 Moss Ave 
#204, Oakland, CA 94610.

End



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