This poll isn't worded very well at all because we cyclists already pay more than our fair share. Even though we cause only a fraction of the damage to the roads that motor vehicles do, we pay for their upkeep at the same rate that drivers do, through the general fund.
Out of EVERY dollar that I pay towards roads in Oregon, only 1¢ gets spent on bike and pedestrian infrastructure. I get only about 0.5¢ to meet my needs as a cyclist for a safe way to get from A to B. Please remind me how does the logic work that "I'm not paying my fair share"?  Oregon should be giving cyclists a rebate for freeing up parking spaces, road space, not sending money to OPEC, and not polluting (rep Ed Orcutt are you listening?).
You think things are bad now, imagine if every cyclist in Oregon were to choose one day and drive to all their destinations?
Thank Goodness!! I have been wanting this done for years!! This will be the second time, OR will be bringing this discussion up. It's time!!
Obviously OR needs the money. You know how much it costs paving the extra room on these roads? Millions!! I am relieved with the fact that finally the recipients of these extra lanes will contribute financially. Its about time!!!!
so how does this work if i own a car and drive and then take my kids out for a bike ride once or twice a month? Â I have to go through all that hassle of a registration fee? Â And the state workers to do the job? How long will it take until the fee is $50 or $100?
Most cars weigh over a ton, pollute the air, overcrowd and tare up our streets. Bicycles don't contribute to any of these problems. Riding our bikes to work or school should be encouraged because they improve the environment and lower the damage to the streets. Cyclists already pay a price by sacrificing their sweat and time and not polluting our air. This is just another way for rich bureaucrats to get richer. Cyclist or not, can't you people see the system is taking away freedom from people who try to escape having to register for a car by using a bike?!
1. I will be expecting my property taxes to drop by the 85% that goes to pay for schools. I have no kids so I don't use the schools, why should I have to pay? If you have more than one kid, your property tax should go up to cover their education. If you don't own a house but have kids in school, you get hit with a "fee" to pay for it! Saw an article a few months ago about a lady with 12 kids in school, if she owns a house why should she and I pay the same amount? If she does not own a house, why should I have to pay almost $3k while she pays $0?
2. When I buy gas that goes in my lawn mower, weed eater, generator, boat ect. that I should be exempt from the gas tax as the gas will not be used on the road.
If you are for the bike fee but against the two scanerios above, you are nothing more than a hypocrite!
@B Smizzle very valid point! I have no kids either. But unfortunately own a home and pay an ungodly amount of money for education and kids. it is very frustrating. I Love the fact that bikes can start helping to pay for the millions it costs to build these "special" lanes for them. It's not like they bike in our car lanes. They need to start helping to pay for what they are using!!!!!
@DixieChic I hope you realize that B Smizzle was being sarcastic, and making a point about how ridiculous the idea of "pay for what you use" is when it comes to concepts that benefit society like public education and active transportation (biking/walking/etc).
@B Smizzle I've never understood the argument against helping fund education when you don't have kids of your own.  Surely you have benefited from living in a society where a premium is placed on education?  I'm willing to bet that you didn't invent/design/build the computer/phone/tablet that allowed you to post your comment.  And I know for a fact that you didn't invent the internet that facilitated it, because Al Gore takes credit for that.
I understand that your scenarios are intended to be sensational, but when you throw words like "hypocrite" around people are simply alienated from your concerns.
@Snowtog I think you missed the point.  People complain that bike riders don't pay their fair share because they use the road.  If you believe that, then you must also believe that you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't use....if you don't, then yes you are a hypocrite!
"Surely you have benefited from living in a society where a premium is placed on education?"
1. And surely you have benefited from living in a society where alternate forms of transportation are encouraged and funded!
2. This is the "premium" placed on education in Oregon.....this is what I pay out the nose for, and I don't even use the system.
Oregon's high school graduation rate fourth worst in nation
"Â I'm willing to bet that you didn't invent/design/build the computer/phone/tablet that allowed you to post your comment"
Nope, but you didn't pay for my computer, or phone, or tablet I did! Â I use it, I pay for it...like I said I agree with that concept. Â So when people say pay for what you use, then stick me with a $3k bill for something I don't use and think that is right....yeah, they makes them a hypocrite.
I really wish people would do the research about just how roads are funded before saying "bicyclists don't pay for roads". That's BS. Most road funding comes from the general fund-- we're talking about property taxes and income taxes, among others. Gas taxes make up a small part of the overall funds used for roads.Â
Other cities and states have instituted a "bicycle registration fee" and shortly thereafter, dumped their programs because the amounts brought in wouldn't even cover the cost of running the program. Â
It's sad that in order to "start a conversation", our legislators feel the need to introduce ridiculous bills that waste time like this one. As a legislator, I would think they have better and more instant access to the information needed. A 30-second Google search gave me the info I was looking for.
@havenkt Interesting.  You say there is road funding that comes from tax that is collected through the purchase of gas, which is automobile specific.  Don't you think it's fair that bicycle specific tax is collected too?
On a side note, there is an attitude among some cyclists (not saying this is you), that they are doing the world a favor by riding their bike to work, or across town. Â It's arrogant and condescending in my eyes. Â If you want to ride your bike, fine. Â Have fun with that. Â But don't get lofted into thinking you are making the world a better place with every pedal stroke.
@Snowtog @havenkt But the whole idea behind the tax is that bicyclists aren't "paying their fair share", while studies show that the amount of non-user fees cyclists are paying into the system via sales, property, payroll, and other taxes already meet the cost they are imposing in local streets and road, and likely surpass it (ie subsidizing roads).
The reason there are extra use fees applied to motor vehicles is specifically because they exact an exponentially higher cost via the need for more expensive infrastructure, higher maintenance costs, and hugely expensive bridge and freeway projects that bicyclists aren't allowed to use. Even so, these extra gas and registration taxes don't even get close to covering all of these car-specific expenses, the cost of which has shifted largely toward non-user fees over the past few decades.
Think of it this way: If every car suddenly disappeared from the streets and no gas taxes or registration fees were being collected, we would not need to impose any new taxes or fees in order to accommodate the remaining road users, and in fact there would suddenly be a surplus in the transportation budget. Bicycling is budget neutral, or possibly even a revenue generator.
And yes, bicyclists are doing their communities a favor (often unintentionally) in many ways by not contributing to congestion, keeping more money in the local economy (7/8ths of every $ spent on a car goes out of state), contributing to improved air quality (childhood asthma rates in cities keep going up), contributing to traffic safety (lower speeds and lighter vehicles means few to no traffic injuries/fatalities). All of that aside, one more person biking instead of driving means one more free parking spot. What's not to like about that?
@Snowtog @havenkt Drivers should want to see more people cycling, especially if they aren't fond of traffic jams and having to spend lots of their precious time driving around looking for a parking space. The more cyclists on the road, the better it is for drivers.Â
Life used to be so much simpler - is my son going to have to register his bike to ride around the neighborhood? Â How much wear and tear do bikes really cause? (Almost none.)
This is a ridiculous, politically motivated idea. The ACTUAL FACT is that roads are not paid for entirely by gas taxes. City and county roads in particular (where you're likely to find people on bikes) are paid for by a number of different means including property taxes, state taxes, county taxes, registration fees, etc. Study after study has shown that cyclists are actually subsidizing auto infrastructure.Â
The money spent on bicycle infrastructure is miniscule as a percentage of total transpo budgets (1-2%) and the vast majority of that is spent on things that benefit cars, not bikes. Bike lanes, for example, serve auto drivers by moving bike traffic to the side of the road, despite the fact that many hazards to bikes lurk there.
If you honestly think that bikes are "in your way" take this simple challenge: take a stop watch with you on your next commute and time how long you are stuck behind another car and time how long you are stuck behind a bike. The fact of the matter is, our streets are over-crowded and we should be providing incentives, not penalties, to people who choose an alternative to driving a car.
All cyclists receive benefits such as special lanes and parking areas that get minimal use and god help drivers if we get caught using those facilities. Let them pay for their special facilities and have all laws that involve cyclists strictly enforced. To make it easier to prosecute some of the worst jerks on two wheels they should have to display a large sized license plate on their cycles so they could be reported for violations.
There are different types of bike riders. Â The bike communters should pay their fair share to ride on the road everyday. Â The pleasure riders who ride a few times a year off road shouldn't. That isn't fair.
Absolutely....it costs
a lot of money to add all the extras just so they can peddle their a**es all
over town....and make sure they irritate the hell out of the rest of us....
It makes sense that if cyclists use the roads and are
required to follow the same traffic laws as automobiles that they should
register and insure those bikes. The standard has been set with
automobiles...apply it to bikes.
1)
There is no "They". There is no community of cyclists who live
where there are no cars and venture out on "My" roads to ride for
free. The cyclist you pass on the road is your neighbor. He lives
just down the street. Earlier that day he filled the gas tank of his car
and paid a $.29 cents per gallon tax to pay for the road he drove on to get to
the gas station and on which he'll commute to work twice a day everyday next week.Â
He drives his car the same 12,000 miles per year you do, it just that this
afternoon while you made a trip to Home Depot, he opted to ride his bike.Â
He'll be making the same drive to Home Depot after he gets back.
2)
The argument is that if a car owner pays hundreds of dollars per year in gas
taxes, insurance, DMV fees, registration, Hood River bridge tolls, etc., then
he's entitled to use Oregon's roads. This is very true. It's also
true that if that same car owner who pays hundreds of dollars per year in gas
taxes, insurance, DMV fees, etc. also keeps a bike in the garage next to that
car and takes it out for a ride now and again, he's opting to use the roads
he's already paid for through driving his cars, but in a different manner for a
couple of hours. Â
3)
From the article:Â "George said one of his constituents complained
about rural roads in Yamhill County being clogged with bicyclists. The
constituent said cyclists use the roads but don't help pay for them." -
Senator Larry George, R-Sherwood has a responsibility to his constituents and
his office to do his job and not waste tax payer dollars engaging in personal
issues which reflect his own bias. Engaging in histrionics by claiming
the roads in "rural" Yamhill County are being "clogged" with
bicyclists is an irresponsible statement which does not serve the people of our
state. If this were the case, given the ratio of cars to bikes on the
road in Yamhill County is probably 1,000:1, then this must mean the same roads
that "...are clogged with bicyclists" must be filled with 1,000 times
the number of cars. Senator, are you claiming the roads of Yamhill County
are one big traffic jam filled with cars, cyclists and farm equipment?Â
Please keep this conversation focused.
4)
How is it that one person walks into a Senator's office, states his bias
against perhaps a lone cyclist slowing his car and that Senator submits a bill
for a new tax? As a Senator, Larry George has a responsibility to all of
his constituents to carefully consider what a lone citizen has to say and then
weigh that against what is best for his community, county and the State of
Oregon. Does this mean if I am upset because a farmer "clogs"
the road with his oversized farm equipment traveling 15 mph, I can contact the
Senator and have him submit another bill calling for a tax on farmers who use
the road to transport combines and such from field to field? Given they
weigh 1,000 times the weight of a bike, can we make the fee relative to the
bike fee? Perhaps $10,000? Do I also get to start seeing farmers as
some kind of separate class of people who I can now start to hate? How
about instead I keep in mind that the guy on that hay baler is my neighbor and
the same guy I talk with in church, at the grocery store or perhaps at our
son's baseball game?
5)
With my college age kids, there are five cars in our family. There's also
a road bike, and I ride it. Whether I'm driving or riding my bike, I see
plenty of instances of both cyclists and drivers violating the rules of the
road and it ticks me off in both cases. In fact, there's a local
intersection where the cops like to hang out and give tickets to everyone who
rolls through the three-way stop in their cars...and they do it all day
long. Of course, it's no different there than anywhere else. I'm
also no different than anyone else when I see cyclists riding three across
without moving over when they see my car. Their arrogance makes my blood
boil, but I also realize that those three arrogant cyclists are the same guys
who are rolling through stop signs in their cars. It has nothing to do
with cars or bikes, it has to do with who is driving and riding them.Â
Back
to my original statement...there is no "They". That
cyclist/farmer/walker/runner on the road is your neighbor and pays just as much as I do in
road taxes and fees. It's just that they're out using the road in a
different manner at the moment.
Lawmakers can go straight to hell as far as I'm concerned. IÂ have had enough. I don't even ride a bike. There was such a thing as liberty in this country but it is GONE. Go to hell Salem.
@special effects Dude you can always move to say, Iran if $10 bucks is to much for you to pay for roads IF you did rode a bike. i suppose you flap ur arms to get to work and to the store only then can u say u dont use the roads and should not have to pay your part in road construction or repair  road repair is something that cost $$$$$ and is payed for with gas tax now the lasr time i saw a bike on the road it was touching the road not flappin there arms so yes they should pay something and yes electric cars should pay there part too. now start flappin ur arms its almost time to go to workÂ
$10 bucks who cares. I ride to work five months out of the year at 42 miles a day I save enough to pay. Would like to see higher registration for hybrids who tear up the road more than bikes and use less gas. Be ready electric and hybrids its next on the lidos fees
I love it...no problem paving and making bike lanes but the only ones who should pay for it are car drivers. $10 is less than four MAX passes. No need to charge kids...kids should not be on major thoroughfares anyway. Do not want the homeless to pay for it? Then have well to do bicyclists pay for a license for them. Wow, problem solved. There was once a time that bicyclists had to register their bikes, and in some cities had to have a license to ride on certain streets.Â
So, this would probably discourage some people from owning or riding a bike. There goes another way to keep fit. Especially if it discourages kids from riding bikes. It also puts strain on the poor and homeless. Not everyone spends $1000.00 on a bike. Many of us pick up our bikes second hand. I remember when I only had enough money to get a second hand bike and light for it. It was my only way to get to work. The bus did not go near where I worked, and it was the only job I could get at the time. Thank God I had my bike, there was no way I could have afforded a car. I guess the days of cheap transportation are gone. Won't be long now, and we'll all be paying a CO2 fee, because our breathing out contributes to greenhouse gases.
I think it is fair for bicyclists to pay a fee if pedestrians also pay a fee. Pretty soon we won't be able to leave the house without money in hand. It's like that song "Did he ever return?" about the guy who had to pay both to get on and to get off the Subway. He didn't have the money to get off once he got on so he had to ride the subway forever...
@Brownknight How about low income people who can bearly afford bikes? I think we should encourage people to do things that make less polution. It's sort of a "sin tax." I drive a car, and being in Multnomah country pay A LOT for car registration fees and insurance that goes up every year for no good reason. Although I really can't afford the registration fees, I agree to do my part. I'm willing to pay a "sin tax" right now to use a car. I am happy that others have the option to ride bikes. That does not, however, give them the right to not obey traffic signals and drive irresponsibly.
Just like someone from Multnomah County to consider driving a sin. Do you know the air is cleaner in Portland than it was in 1955? Frankly, I am tired of supporting poor people. Just because they did not have the ambition to put on big boy pants, I have to continue to help them out. Geez, I am so sorry.Â
Areas of Canada have had this for years already. An adult person is required to buy a small, brightly colored license plate each year (I believe age 18 and younger are exempt) and it must be on their bicycle at all times. If they are caught without one, it is written up as a motor vehicle ticket would be which is substantially more than the plate would have been. Each progressive ticket doubles until a certain amount is hit then a warrant is drawn up. 10.00 is drop in the bucket compared to the cost of creating bike lanes that we've already spent and, quite frankly, wasted road money on. In fact, I think it should be 20.00 per year. I mean come on....less then 2.00 per month???? Don't tell me all the bike riders can't afford that when most of their bikes costs hundreds of dollars.
And I'm sure they're NOT talking about little Timmy's new two-wheelers with the shiney new training wheels. This is referencing adult people, using adult sized bikes, for adult trips to work and wherever. Get real. They need to pay fees also...ande it's about damn time!
Ok, so let's think about this ~ $10 for ALL bicycles to include little Timmy's birthday present? That is thousands of bicycles... it is ridiculous. I just got off the phone with the Senators office and this is about a farmer in his district being upset at sharing the road with their farm equipment and people touring those farm roads, its not even an urban issue.
What's next? Gotta register your kayak? or your hiking boots or your snowboard or your skateboard or your swimming trunks? I don't know about you all, but I think we have more than enough people dipping into our pockets for things and more than enough government "managing" our lives and we don't need this petty crap.Â
As for  the urban issue, yes there are LOTS of cyclist and not all of them are decent / mindful folks (I used to live off 54th and Hawthorne). The however part is that the physics just isn't there for road maintenance. You can't compare 1000 bicycles that present 200lbs ea of weight (using my bike and me as weight example) with 1000 cars 3000lbs+ using the same medium. It's a no brainer which vehicle is beating up the roadway. This is a silly idea and needs to be chucked into the waste can  ~ stepping off my soap box
@Brian Tipsword  I guess your brain just wasnt in gear but here is a rebuttal. Â
We dont build "infrastructure" for Kayaks and people pay fees to National Parks, etc that provide "hiking trails". You use your "swimming trunks" in pools, many of which charge an admission charge.
Drivers of cars already pay hefty "registration fees" as well as hefty gas taxes to provide "infrastructure". Some of these funds are being siphoned off to build BICYCLE infrastructure. A $10 fee for a bike is MINIMAL and prudent. Wake up.
@scared_citizen Ah I get it....if you use it you should pay for it. Okay, when can I cut my property tax by the 85% that goes to school....after all, I have no kids using the school system! Why should I have to pay for your (if you have them) and everyone elses brats to flunk out of school? Like the lady on KATU a month or so ago who has 12 kids, if she has a house, she pays the same property tax as me but used 12x what I use of the education system, is that fair? If she does not own a house, she pays NOTHING and I pay almost $3k, again is that fair?  And we are talking A LOT more than $10!
Also, I assume then you agree if I ever buy gas for my lawnmower, weed eater, generator, boat...ect. I should be exempt from all gas taxes. After all, it goes to pay for the road and I am not using that gas on the road!
You're weak, sir. This issue is about the mundane and rediculous. If you should be about jumping upon this bandwagon then go ahead and remember what your grandfathers would have said about this "tax". BA! HUMBUG!!!!
Another very useful cell phone law!! See how many comply and why should they? Registering bikes is stupid. Are the ones with training wheels exempt?
Who pays the fine when a bike runs into me and damages my car? Who pays the fine if I hit the bicyclist. Let's take a look at fair. Really? What is $10 and they will get to see it come back to them, unlike our registration fees for our cars, etc.
This poll isn't worded very well at all because we cyclists already pay more than our fair share. Even though we cause only a fraction of the damage to the roads that motor vehicles do, we pay for their upkeep at the same rate that drivers do, through the general fund.
Read more here:
 http://grist.org/article/2010-09-27-why-an-additional-road-tax-for-bicyclists-would-be-unfair/
Out of EVERY dollar that I pay towards roads in Oregon, only 1¢ gets spent on bike and pedestrian infrastructure. I get only about 0.5¢ to meet my needs as a cyclist for a safe way to get from A to B. Please remind me how does the logic work that "I'm not paying my fair share"?  Oregon should be giving cyclists a rebate for freeing up parking spaces, road space, not sending money to OPEC, and not polluting (rep Ed Orcutt are you listening?).
You think things are bad now, imagine if every cyclist in Oregon were to choose one day and drive to all their destinations?
Thank Goodness!! I have been wanting this done for years!! This will be the second time, OR will be bringing this discussion up. It's time!!
Obviously OR needs the money. You know how much it costs paving the extra room on these roads? Millions!! I am relieved with the fact that finally the recipients of these extra lanes will contribute financially. Its about time!!!!
@DixieChic Public policy based on bad info or false assumptions is dangerous. Here's your homework:
1. Google "Do bicyclists pay for roads?"
2. Read any or all of the articles that come up in the first page of search results.
3. Come back here and post a response about what you have read.
4. (Optional) Apologize to non-drivers who largely help to subsidize the local street and road system for car owners.
so how does this work if i own a car and drive and then take my kids out for a bike ride once or twice a month? Â I have to go through all that hassle of a registration fee? Â And the state workers to do the job? How long will it take until the fee is $50 or $100?
Most cars weigh over a ton, pollute the air, overcrowd and tare up our streets. Bicycles don't contribute to any of these problems. Riding our bikes to work or school should be encouraged because they improve the environment and lower the damage to the streets. Cyclists already pay a price by sacrificing their sweat and time and not polluting our air. This is just another way for rich bureaucrats to get richer. Cyclist or not, can't you people see the system is taking away freedom from people who try to escape having to register for a car by using a bike?!
Hey I am all for pay for what you use....
1. I will be expecting my property taxes to drop by the 85% that goes to pay for schools. I have no kids so I don't use the schools, why should I have to pay? If you have more than one kid, your property tax should go up to cover their education. If you don't own a house but have kids in school, you get hit with a "fee" to pay for it! Saw an article a few months ago about a lady with 12 kids in school, if she owns a house why should she and I pay the same amount? If she does not own a house, why should I have to pay almost $3k while she pays $0?
2. When I buy gas that goes in my lawn mower, weed eater, generator, boat ect. that I should be exempt from the gas tax as the gas will not be used on the road.
If you are for the bike fee but against the two scanerios above, you are nothing more than a hypocrite!
@B Smizzle very valid point! I have no kids either. But unfortunately own a home and pay an ungodly amount of money for education and kids. it is very frustrating. I Love the fact that bikes can start helping to pay for the millions it costs to build these "special" lanes for them. It's not like they bike in our car lanes. They need to start helping to pay for what they are using!!!!!
@DixieChic I hope you realize that B Smizzle was being sarcastic, and making a point about how ridiculous the idea of "pay for what you use" is when it comes to concepts that benefit society like public education and active transportation (biking/walking/etc).
@B Smizzle I've never understood the argument against helping fund education when you don't have kids of your own.  Surely you have benefited from living in a society where a premium is placed on education?  I'm willing to bet that you didn't invent/design/build the computer/phone/tablet that allowed you to post your comment.  And I know for a fact that you didn't invent the internet that facilitated it, because Al Gore takes credit for that.
I understand that your scenarios are intended to be sensational, but when you throw words like "hypocrite" around people are simply alienated from your concerns.
@Snowtog I think you missed the point.  People complain that bike riders don't pay their fair share because they use the road.  If you believe that, then you must also believe that you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't use....if you don't, then yes you are a hypocrite!
"Surely you have benefited from living in a society where a premium is placed on education?"
1. And surely you have benefited from living in a society where alternate forms of transportation are encouraged and funded!
2. This is the "premium" placed on education in Oregon.....this is what I pay out the nose for, and I don't even use the system.
Oregon's high school graduation rate fourth worst in nation
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/11/oregons_high_school_graduation.html
"Â I'm willing to bet that you didn't invent/design/build the computer/phone/tablet that allowed you to post your comment"
Nope, but you didn't pay for my computer, or phone, or tablet I did! Â I use it, I pay for it...like I said I agree with that concept. Â So when people say pay for what you use, then stick me with a $3k bill for something I don't use and think that is right....yeah, they makes them a hypocrite.
I really wish people would do the research about just how roads are funded before saying "bicyclists don't pay for roads". That's BS. Most road funding comes from the general fund-- we're talking about property taxes and income taxes, among others. Gas taxes make up a small part of the overall funds used for roads.Â
Other cities and states have instituted a "bicycle registration fee" and shortly thereafter, dumped their programs because the amounts brought in wouldn't even cover the cost of running the program. Â
It's sad that in order to "start a conversation", our legislators feel the need to introduce ridiculous bills that waste time like this one. As a legislator, I would think they have better and more instant access to the information needed. A 30-second Google search gave me the info I was looking for.
What ever happened to "no new taxes"??
@havenkt Interesting.  You say there is road funding that comes from tax that is collected through the purchase of gas, which is automobile specific.  Don't you think it's fair that bicycle specific tax is collected too?
On a side note, there is an attitude among some cyclists (not saying this is you), that they are doing the world a favor by riding their bike to work, or across town. Â It's arrogant and condescending in my eyes. Â If you want to ride your bike, fine. Â Have fun with that. Â But don't get lofted into thinking you are making the world a better place with every pedal stroke.
@Snowtog @havenkt But the whole idea behind the tax is that bicyclists aren't "paying their fair share", while studies show that the amount of non-user fees cyclists are paying into the system via sales, property, payroll, and other taxes already meet the cost they are imposing in local streets and road, and likely surpass it (ie subsidizing roads).
The reason there are extra use fees applied to motor vehicles is specifically because they exact an exponentially higher cost via the need for more expensive infrastructure, higher maintenance costs, and hugely expensive bridge and freeway projects that bicyclists aren't allowed to use. Even so, these extra gas and registration taxes don't even get close to covering all of these car-specific expenses, the cost of which has shifted largely toward non-user fees over the past few decades.
Think of it this way: If every car suddenly disappeared from the streets and no gas taxes or registration fees were being collected, we would not need to impose any new taxes or fees in order to accommodate the remaining road users, and in fact there would suddenly be a surplus in the transportation budget. Bicycling is budget neutral, or possibly even a revenue generator.
And yes, bicyclists are doing their communities a favor (often unintentionally) in many ways by not contributing to congestion, keeping more money in the local economy (7/8ths of every $ spent on a car goes out of state), contributing to improved air quality (childhood asthma rates in cities keep going up), contributing to traffic safety (lower speeds and lighter vehicles means few to no traffic injuries/fatalities). All of that aside, one more person biking instead of driving means one more free parking spot. What's not to like about that?
@Snowtog @havenkt Drivers should want to see more people cycling, especially if they aren't fond of traffic jams and having to spend lots of their precious time driving around looking for a parking space. The more cyclists on the road, the better it is for drivers.Â
Life used to be so much simpler - is my son going to have to register his bike to ride around the neighborhood? Â How much wear and tear do bikes really cause? (Almost none.)
This is a ridiculous, politically motivated idea. The ACTUAL FACT is that roads are not paid for entirely by gas taxes. City and county roads in particular (where you're likely to find people on bikes) are paid for by a number of different means including property taxes, state taxes, county taxes, registration fees, etc. Study after study has shown that cyclists are actually subsidizing auto infrastructure.Â
The money spent on bicycle infrastructure is miniscule as a percentage of total transpo budgets (1-2%) and the vast majority of that is spent on things that benefit cars, not bikes. Bike lanes, for example, serve auto drivers by moving bike traffic to the side of the road, despite the fact that many hazards to bikes lurk there.
If you honestly think that bikes are "in your way" take this simple challenge: take a stop watch with you on your next commute and time how long you are stuck behind another car and time how long you are stuck behind a bike. The fact of the matter is, our streets are over-crowded and we should be providing incentives, not penalties, to people who choose an alternative to driving a car.
When we come close to having adequate bike lanes we can start thinking about charging bikes a fee.
@ptr Ha!  Most of the cyclists I've seen have more than adequate bike lanes.  They call them "the road."
All cyclists receive benefits such as special lanes and parking areas that get minimal use and god help drivers if we get caught using those facilities. Let them pay for their special facilities and have all laws that involve cyclists strictly enforced. To make it easier to prosecute some of the worst jerks on two wheels they should have to display a large sized license plate on their cycles so they could be reported for violations.
How much do tricycles have to pay?
There are different types of bike riders. Â The bike communters should pay their fair share to ride on the road everyday. Â The pleasure riders who ride a few times a year off road shouldn't. That isn't fair.
Absolutely....it costs a lot of money to add all the extras just so they can peddle their a**es all over town....and make sure they irritate the hell out of the rest of us....
It makes sense that if cyclists use the roads and are required to follow the same traffic laws as automobiles that they should register and insure those bikes. The standard has been set with automobiles...apply it to bikes.
Where do I begin?!
1) There is no "They". There is no community of cyclists who live where there are no cars and venture out on "My" roads to ride for free. The cyclist you pass on the road is your neighbor. He lives just down the street. Earlier that day he filled the gas tank of his car and paid a $.29 cents per gallon tax to pay for the road he drove on to get to the gas station and on which he'll commute to work twice a day everyday next week. He drives his car the same 12,000 miles per year you do, it just that this afternoon while you made a trip to Home Depot, he opted to ride his bike. He'll be making the same drive to Home Depot after he gets back.
2) The argument is that if a car owner pays hundreds of dollars per year in gas taxes, insurance, DMV fees, registration, Hood River bridge tolls, etc., then he's entitled to use Oregon's roads. This is very true. It's also true that if that same car owner who pays hundreds of dollars per year in gas taxes, insurance, DMV fees, etc. also keeps a bike in the garage next to that car and takes it out for a ride now and again, he's opting to use the roads he's already paid for through driving his cars, but in a different manner for a couple of hours. Â
3) From the article: "George said one of his constituents complained about rural roads in Yamhill County being clogged with bicyclists. The constituent said cyclists use the roads but don't help pay for them." - Senator Larry George, R-Sherwood has a responsibility to his constituents and his office to do his job and not waste tax payer dollars engaging in personal issues which reflect his own bias. Engaging in histrionics by claiming the roads in "rural" Yamhill County are being "clogged" with bicyclists is an irresponsible statement which does not serve the people of our state. If this were the case, given the ratio of cars to bikes on the road in Yamhill County is probably 1,000:1, then this must mean the same roads that "...are clogged with bicyclists" must be filled with 1,000 times the number of cars. Senator, are you claiming the roads of Yamhill County are one big traffic jam filled with cars, cyclists and farm equipment? Please keep this conversation focused.
4) How is it that one person walks into a Senator's office, states his bias against perhaps a lone cyclist slowing his car and that Senator submits a bill for a new tax? As a Senator, Larry George has a responsibility to all of his constituents to carefully consider what a lone citizen has to say and then weigh that against what is best for his community, county and the State of Oregon. Does this mean if I am upset because a farmer "clogs" the road with his oversized farm equipment traveling 15 mph, I can contact the Senator and have him submit another bill calling for a tax on farmers who use the road to transport combines and such from field to field? Given they weigh 1,000 times the weight of a bike, can we make the fee relative to the bike fee? Perhaps $10,000? Do I also get to start seeing farmers as some kind of separate class of people who I can now start to hate? How about instead I keep in mind that the guy on that hay baler is my neighbor and the same guy I talk with in church, at the grocery store or perhaps at our son's baseball game?
5) With my college age kids, there are five cars in our family. There's also a road bike, and I ride it. Whether I'm driving or riding my bike, I see plenty of instances of both cyclists and drivers violating the rules of the road and it ticks me off in both cases. In fact, there's a local intersection where the cops like to hang out and give tickets to everyone who rolls through the three-way stop in their cars...and they do it all day long. Of course, it's no different there than anywhere else. I'm also no different than anyone else when I see cyclists riding three across without moving over when they see my car. Their arrogance makes my blood boil, but I also realize that those three arrogant cyclists are the same guys who are rolling through stop signs in their cars. It has nothing to do with cars or bikes, it has to do with who is driving and riding them.Â
Back to my original statement...there is no "They". That cyclist/farmer/walker/runner on the road is your neighbor and pays just as much as I do in road taxes and fees. It's just that they're out using the road in a different manner at the moment.
@Stort! A nice long letter about why you are cheap.. thanks
At $10 a year, each, it should only at 43,000 years for bicyclists to pay for their 62% of the Sellwood Bridge.
Lawmakers can go straight to hell as far as I'm concerned. IÂ have had enough. I don't even ride a bike. There was such a thing as liberty in this country but it is GONE. Go to hell Salem.
@special effects Dude you can always move to say, Iran if $10 bucks is to much for you to pay for roads IF you did rode a bike. i suppose you flap ur arms to get to work and to the store only then can u say u dont use the roads and should not have to pay your part in road construction or repair  road repair is something that cost $$$$$ and is payed for with gas tax now the lasr time i saw a bike on the road it was touching the road not flappin there arms so yes they should pay something and yes electric cars should pay there part too. now start flappin ur arms its almost time to go to workÂ
$10 bucks who cares. I ride to work five months out of the year at 42 miles a day I save enough to pay. Would like to see higher registration for hybrids who tear up the road more than bikes and use less gas. Be ready electric and hybrids its next on the lidos fees
I love it...no problem paving and making bike lanes but the only ones who should pay for it are car drivers. $10 is less than four MAX passes. No need to charge kids...kids should not be on major thoroughfares anyway. Do not want the homeless to pay for it? Then have well to do bicyclists pay for a license for them. Wow, problem solved. There was once a time that bicyclists had to register their bikes, and in some cities had to have a license to ride on certain streets.Â
So, this would probably discourage some people from owning or riding a bike. There goes another way to keep fit. Especially if it discourages kids from riding bikes. It also puts strain on the poor and homeless. Not everyone spends $1000.00 on a bike. Many of us pick up our bikes second hand. I remember when I only had enough money to get a second hand bike and light for it. It was my only way to get to work. The bus did not go near where I worked, and it was the only job I could get at the time. Thank God I had my bike, there was no way I could have afforded a car. I guess the days of cheap transportation are gone. Won't be long now, and we'll all be paying a CO2 fee, because our breathing out contributes to greenhouse gases.
yes they should be charged a fee, registration and have to carry insurance, they can cause an accident just like a vehicle can
@Lou Jepsen Pedestrians can too.Â
I think it is fair for bicyclists to pay a fee if pedestrians also pay a fee. Pretty soon we won't be able to leave the house without money in hand. It's like that song "Did he ever return?" about the guy who had to pay both to get on and to get off the Subway. He didn't have the money to get off once he got on so he had to ride the subway forever...
Watch them scream when they are asked to pay a $10 fee, yet they plug $1500 on a bike and $120 on shiny padded pants.
@Brownknight How about low income people who can bearly afford bikes? I think we should encourage people to do things that make less polution. It's sort of a "sin tax." I drive a car, and being in Multnomah country pay A LOT for car registration fees and insurance that goes up every year for no good reason. Although I really can't afford the registration fees, I agree to do my part. I'm willing to pay a "sin tax" right now to use a car. I am happy that others have the option to ride bikes. That does not, however, give them the right to not obey traffic signals and drive irresponsibly.
Just like someone from Multnomah County to consider driving a sin. Do you know the air is cleaner in Portland than it was in 1955? Frankly, I am tired of supporting poor people. Just because they did not have the ambition to put on big boy pants, I have to continue to help them out. Geez, I am so sorry.Â
Areas of Canada have had this for years already. An adult person is required to buy a small, brightly colored license plate each year (I believe age 18 and younger are exempt) and it must be on their bicycle at all times. If they are caught without one, it is written up as a motor vehicle ticket would be which is substantially more than the plate would have been. Each progressive ticket doubles until a certain amount is hit then a warrant is drawn up. 10.00 is drop in the bucket compared to the cost of creating bike lanes that we've already spent and, quite frankly, wasted road money on. In fact, I think it should be 20.00 per year. I mean come on....less then 2.00 per month???? Don't tell me all the bike riders can't afford that when most of their bikes costs hundreds of dollars.
And I'm sure they're NOT talking about little Timmy's new two-wheelers with the shiney new training wheels. This is referencing adult people, using adult sized bikes, for adult trips to work and wherever. Get real. They need to pay fees also...ande it's about damn time!
@fracasÂ
No, Little Timmy's parrents will be hit with the fee and fine if they are ignorent.
Read the bill.
It's about damn time...and too little. $10 is not nearly enough!
Ok, so let's think about this ~ $10 for ALL bicycles to include little Timmy's birthday present? That is thousands of bicycles... it is ridiculous. I just got off the phone with the Senators office and this is about a farmer in his district being upset at sharing the road with their farm equipment and people touring those farm roads, its not even an urban issue.
What's next? Gotta register your kayak? or your hiking boots or your snowboard or your skateboard or your swimming trunks? I don't know about you all, but I think we have more than enough people dipping into our pockets for things and more than enough government "managing" our lives and we don't need this petty crap.Â
As for  the urban issue, yes there are LOTS of cyclist and not all of them are decent / mindful folks (I used to live off 54th and Hawthorne). The however part is that the physics just isn't there for road maintenance. You can't compare 1000 bicycles that present 200lbs ea of weight (using my bike and me as weight example) with 1000 cars 3000lbs+ using the same medium. It's a no brainer which vehicle is beating up the roadway. This is a silly idea and needs to be chucked into the waste can  ~ stepping off my soap box
@Brian Tipsword  I guess your brain just wasnt in gear but here is a rebuttal. Â
We dont build "infrastructure" for Kayaks and people pay fees to National Parks, etc that provide "hiking trails". You use your "swimming trunks" in pools, many of which charge an admission charge.
Drivers of cars already pay hefty "registration fees" as well as hefty gas taxes to provide "infrastructure". Some of these funds are being siphoned off to build BICYCLE infrastructure. A $10 fee for a bike is MINIMAL and prudent. Wake up.
@scared_citizen Ah I get it....if you use it you should pay for it. Okay, when can I cut my property tax by the 85% that goes to school....after all, I have no kids using the school system! Why should I have to pay for your (if you have them) and everyone elses brats to flunk out of school? Like the lady on KATU a month or so ago who has 12 kids, if she has a house, she pays the same property tax as me but used 12x what I use of the education system, is that fair? If she does not own a house, she pays NOTHING and I pay almost $3k, again is that fair?  And we are talking A LOT more than $10!
Also, I assume then you agree if I ever buy gas for my lawnmower, weed eater, generator, boat...ect. I should be exempt from all gas taxes. After all, it goes to pay for the road and I am not using that gas on the road!
As you said "WAKE UP"
You're weak, sir. This issue is about the mundane and rediculous. If you should be about jumping upon this bandwagon then go ahead and remember what your grandfathers would have said about this "tax". BA! HUMBUG!!!!
Another very useful cell phone law!! See how many comply and why should they? Registering bikes is stupid. Are the ones with training wheels exempt?
Who pays the fine when a bike runs into me and damages my car? Who pays the fine if I hit the bicyclist. Let's take a look at fair. Really? What is $10 and they will get to see it come back to them, unlike our registration fees for our cars, etc.
I said "I'm not sure" because I don't think $10 is enough.Â
@correct I know... I pay 143 for plates on my car
 they should pay at least 30