New bike law hits the streets Monday

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Starting this week, motorists will have to make a little more room for bicyclists on Austin roadways - as a new ordinance designed to make the streets safer for two-wheeled travelers goes into effect.

Drivers must give them a three-foot buffer zone. Commercial drivers must give a six-foot buffer zone.

Drivers also will not be allowed to cut off bicyclists or pedestrians at right-hand turns.

"I've had a guy literally push me against the curb, and I had to, like, hold onto his sideview mirror to keep me up from pushing me off the road," recalled Jay Hennings, a cyclist who rides daily through the Downtown Austin area.

The Austin City Council unanimously approved the ordinance last Thursday to make it safer for cyclists - as well as pedestrians, those in wheelchairs, ambulances and other vulnerable road users.

Nathaniel Muhler rides his bike to and from campus everyday.

"I might ride more aggressively than some people, so I might cause some close calls myself, but huge cars can't see me," said Muhler. "I ride at night a lot."

"The car weighs 2,000 pounds, you weigh probably 150 pounds," said Mark Coltharp, with University Cyclery Bike Shop. "If you do something that causes you to get in the way of a car or a car gets in your way, the cyclist is always going to be the one to lose. So, you might want to think twice about cutting in front of somebody's path."

Although Muhler watches out for everyone else on the road, he thinks most drivers do not pay attention to him.

"Drivers need to be more aware, but they're not," said Muhler.

Muhler is skeptical of the new law.

"I don't think it will happen. I think drivers will do whatever they want, and car drivers tend to own the road."

Coltharp agreed, thinking enforcement will be difficult.

However, Austin police said they will try to keep an eye on dangerous drivers.

"Any law trying to correct changing a driving culture, we hope that it will save lives and keep everybody safe," said Corporal Scott Perry with the Austin Police Department.

The police will write citations to violators and warn that those on bicycles have to follow the rules too.

"If we see somebody driving a vehicle or a bicycle dangerously, running red lights, cutting people off and things like that, whoever is doing that, that's who we are targeting," said Perry.

Meanwhile, some drivers said the new law could cause a big bump in the road.

"It's a little bit difficult if there's someone next to you," said Shannon Utley, a driver. "Guadalupe is so small. It's only two lanes. You can't really go around the bicyclist if there are cars next to you."

Below is an example of a cyclist in the middle of the road. At first glance, it looks as if the cyclist should not be there, as there is a designated bike lane on that particular road. However, towards the end of the clip, it becomes evident the cyclist is simply trying to turn left, which it is legal to ride in the left lane to do so.

Other drivers agree.

"I think it's hard, because it creates a traffic backup when one bike is taking up a whole lane," said Jason Frank, a driver.

It is a new law, however, that drivers will have to abide by.

"Obviously, they have to follow traffic laws like everyone else," said Joanna Herzig, a driver. "I think that we should make room for them."

Muhler thinks the real solution lies in the road itself.

"I think the bigger problem is having actual space in the roads, like widening them and adding more bike lanes and buffer zones," said Muhler. "That's the only thing, a physical barrier."

Violators of the new law will face a class-one misdemeanor.