State Assemblymember Chris Ward of San Diego has come up with an innovative way to discourage drivers from parking in bike lanes. Now he wants his hometown to use it.
Ward spearheaded a new state law that allows cities to ticket such violations more quickly using cameras mounted on city vehicles instead of requiring a police or traffic enforcement officer to be present.
The law allows cities to use technology to ensure the millions they’ve invested in bike lanes don’t go to waste because the lanes are frequently blocked, Ward said.
“How frustrating for cities when residents can’t use what’s been built because of blockage,” he said. Blocked bike lanes also discourage people from cycling and cause crashes by forcing cyclists to swerve, Ward said.
The new state law, AB 361, allows cities to equip city vehicles with cameras and write citations for bike lane violations based on the photos they take. It’s up to the individual cities to figure out how to review the photos.