By James Knight — Senate Bill 1140 and Senate Bill 1144 have passed in the state of Idaho. These bills will regulate and dictate when bike lanes and sidewalks can be built in Ada County, including Boise. The bills were sponsored by now former Senator Mark Harris, who is from Soda Springs, Idaho. Senate Bill 1140 passed with 28-6-1 in the Senate and 59-9-2 in the House, while Senate Bill 1144 passed 26-7-2 in the Senate and 58-10-2 in the House and were signed into law by Governor Brad Little according to legislature.idaho.gov.
These bills passed despite the community electing two new pro-pedestrian and bicycling Ada County Highway District commissioners Alexis Pickering and Patricia Nilsson, as Colton Grange notes in the Cycling West editorial “Advocacy Alert: Idaho Bills Will Severely Impact Bike Projects.” While these bills primarily impact Boise and other areas within Ada County. The bills were brought forth by politicians from outside of Ada County. As Colton Grange noted in the same editorial “A bunch of politicians who don’t live in Ada County are voting to overrule the results of that election and threaten ACHD members with jail time should they commit the crime of building a bike lane. It’s excessive regulation. It’s government overreach.”
The new bills essentially say that bike lanes and pedestrian facilities can only be improved upon or added to a highway project if they provide a secondary benefit to the project, or are near schools or parks, or if there are federal regulations requiring such action. Any elected person who tries to infringe on these laws can be charged with a misdemeanor and punished by up to a year in prison and $1000 fine.
For more information, you can view the Colton Grange editorial at https://www.cyclingwest.com/columns/guest-editorials/advocacy-alert-idaho-bills-will-severely-impact-bike-projects/
Another example of people who know nothing about an issue writing policy about it. It requires planners to have to jump through more hoops than they already do to add bike lanes, and the threat of a misdemeanor is ridiculous.
At least the bill states: “Existing or new pedestrian and bicycle facilities may only be improved… to improve the safety of pedestrian and bicycle facilities near… designated pedestrian or bicycle areas”.
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