PORTAGE (WKZO-AM) — The Portage City Council has approved a new bicycle safety ordinance that mirrors the one approved by Kalamazoo city commissioners earlier this fall.
It will require that motorists give slower bikes five feet of leeway if the two are headed in the same direction, even if that forces the motorist to cross the centerline.
All of the speakers at the public hearing supported it. Mayor Peter Strazdas voted for it, even though he doubts it’s going to make much difference.
He said the only way they will put a serious dent in the problem is through education and not just imposing a new ordinance.
The Michigan Senate has approved a two-bill package sponsored by Rep. Margaret O’Brien, R-Portage, that would set the five-foot distance rule statewide, and require that an hour in drivers education be spent talking about pedestrian and bicycle safety. It has been sent to the state house where its waiting their consideration.
