Chico Councilmembers Work On New Bicyclist Safety Plan

Local leaders in Chico have completed revisions to the city’s bicyclist laws and urban development plans for future bike lanes.

The major theme of Chico’s latest Bicycle Plan is to create a fully connected bikeway network throughout the city. To do this, leaders suggest transforming the city’s bike routes into boulevards. Leaders also want to create wider buffers between bikeways and traffic to prevent accidents.

Chico lawmakers made it clear that they want local bicyclist groups to be an active part of this process. City leaders won’t move forward on any plans without approval from the cyclist community.

Making Chico’s streets safer for cyclists has become increasingly important as more people decide to ride their bicycles. A recent report from the Butte County Public Health Department found that Chico and surrounding cities have a higher than average rate of crashes involving cyclists.

Recent statistics suggest the national average for cyclist fatalities is about 2.3 deaths per 1 million Americans every year. California’s cyclist fatality figure hovers around 3 per 1 million residents. While cities work on improving road safety, cyclists may be interested in Mova Law Group‘s article tips to prevent a bicycle accident which also serves up information on safety gear.

Chico’s councilmembers will now consider these proposals before officially signing them into law.

Usually Chico updates its bicyclist policies every five to ten years. The last time Chico officials changed their Bicycle Plan was in 2012.

To better understand the basics of the Golden State’s bicyclist policies, please read through California Vehicle Code (CVC) Article 4 by clicking on this link. You could also learn more about bicycling through the Golden State on California DMV’s “Bicycle Resources” webpage.

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