TCA: Alderman crabbing about bikes not being licensed

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/8435830-418/alderman-asks-whe...

 

And Gabe Klein handling it perfectly.

 

And Ron Burke coming off as calling for a crackdown on cyclists (probably taken out of context, but note that Gabe didn't give them anything to take out of context.)

 

(***TCA= "this crap again")

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Permalink Reply by S.Presley☠ on October 28, 2011 at 9:00am
Even though i am not always the most lawful cyclist...I still think they should just enforce the laws already on the books. And ticket the cars/trucks that double park in the bike lanes...that would be nice and generate some money.
Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on October 28, 2011 at 9:19am
Thunder Snow said:

All bikes in Chicago are, by law, ALREADY registered/licensed with the authorities:

"9-120-020- Registration - Permalink

It is hereby made the duty of the owner of every bicycle, before operating or permitting the operation of the same upon any public way within the city, to register said vehicle with the commissioner of police on a form provided for such purpose. Registration may be accomplished by filing the registration record or form, duly filled out, in the office of the commander of the police district in which the bicycle owner resides, or by mailing said form, duly filled out, postage prepaid, to the commissioner of police.

Prior Registration code § 29.1-2; Amend Coun. J. 7-12-90, p. 18634"

We have a similar statute in my town of Evanston, and I'd bet many other towns in the area have the same laws.  I even paid a fifty cent per bike license fee to Evanston, which seems like a reasonable cost.

Okay, so if I want to go on a day trip on my bicycle, I first have to register my bicycle separately in each municipality I may be traveling through. That's stupid. Let's make people driving cars do that first.
Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on October 28, 2011 at 11:13am
Thunder Snow said:
Mike, you're assuming that governmental licensing is about anything other than revenue collection.  My dog needs to be licensed, though its paws do no harm to the sidewalk. A home based web design business still needs a business license to operate, though there is zero infrastructure damage caused by it.  Bicycle licensing would just be about closing budget gaps. 

 

Not to get too far off topic, but there are other reasons why dogs are licensed which have nothing to do with damage to the sidewalk, or even revenue generation. It's not good to have feral dogs running around, or dogs with rabies, or people running puppy mills. Licensing helps to pay for animal control services.

Likewise, home-based businesses are regulated not because of infrastructure damage, but because, for instance, there's a public interest in enforcing zoning laws so that people don't start up big manufacturing operations in residential areas.

Similarly, cars require registration to help offset multiple costs, not just road maintenance.

Of course there's purely a revenue generation aspect to all of these regulations as well.  But I don't buy that that's the only reason for them.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 31, 2011 at 5:28am
Here's a Boston perspective on the same issue.
Permalink Reply by Michelle Gregorek on October 31, 2011 at 1:54pm
I think bikes are already contributing less congestion, cleaner air, no damage to the infrastructure, etc., etc., etc.   So that would be my argument against that point. ;)

notoriousDUG said:

Or it could be argued that bikes should contribute something towards the infrastructure that they use...

 

It's not an illogical point.

Permalink Reply by Michelle Gregorek on October 31, 2011 at 2:02pm

+1



h' said:

And fortunately for us, Rahm and Gabe get this.

Fran Kondorf said:

Truth.

 -f

Christopher Warland said:

Hmm, reduced congestion, less pollution, reduced wear and tear on infrastructure, lower public health and insurance costs...seems as if cyclists should be subsidized, not taxed. 

 

Permalink Reply by E A on November 4, 2011 at 7:48am

some valuable comments to this issue on the bikecommuters.com post too!

(http://www.bikecommuters.com/2011/10/28/license-to-bike/)

Permalink Reply by David Stowell on November 4, 2013 at 7:19am

I propose non-compliance if the aldermen actually pass this abusive new tax.  If we cyclists simply refuse to register what can they do?  They will end up spending more tax dollars trying to enforce this absolutely indefensible new tax than they would have raised by implementing it.  We have been bled and continue to be bled by these lazy criminals in government locally and nationally.  I suggest writing to Alderman Pat Dowelll and letting her know where you personally stand on this plan.  Contact information on her 3rd Ward website.   If the plan is approved I propose a mass demonstration on bicycles at City Hall.  Imagine ten thousand bicyclists downtown.  

Permalink Reply by Gecko on November 4, 2013 at 9:26am

Wow dude, way to dig up a 2-year-old thread on a subject that had zero chance of becoming a reality.

P.S. there's a monthly mass demonstration near City Hall called Chicago Critical Mass which is attended by around 3,000 cyclists in the summer months.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on November 4, 2013 at 9:31am

Does anyone else find it somewhat amusing that David probably did a search for something like "bicycle license" and came up with a two year old thread?  Something like déja vu all over again?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on November 4, 2013 at 10:13am

I find it more amusing that he picked out this particular thread. There are over a dozen threads to choose from when searching for "bicycle license" on the top left of the Chainlinks home page. This one was 9th from the top.

Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

Does anyone else find it somewhat amusing that David probably did a search for something like "bicycle license" and came up with a two year old thread?  Something like déja vu all over again?

Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on November 4, 2013 at 10:17am

C'mon, this is not a dead horse.  Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward Alderman, proposed bicycle licenses just a couple of weeks ago, and it's likely to come up again when CDOT goes before the City Council this week for Budget Hearings.

This is mostly a failure of Ning to return relevant, sortable search results.

 
Cameron 7.5 mi said:

A two year old discussion about a proposal by an alderman who is no longer in office. Let's beat this dead horse some more.

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