BY AMY BALTODANO
Hays Post
The new bike lanes throughout Hays are the talk of the town at the moment, and the Hays Police Department is doing its best to try answer questions and educate the public.
Traffic laws do apply to those on their cycles, according to HPD Corp. Brandon Hauptman, who leads the HPD bike patrol program
“Bicyclists have the right to the roadway just as any other vehicle does. Now, the biggest difference is when there is a bike lane, if there is a bike lane provided, they have to use the bike lane,” he said. “Otherwise, they can use a traffic lane just like a vehicle can — but must also abide by all the traffic laws. They also have to stop at stop lights, they have to stop for stop signs, have to use signals.”
He encouraged anyone with questions to visit the bikehays.com website. On the site, residents can find instructional videos telling how to correctly use the bike lanes, sharing the trail with other cyclists as well as a map showing where you can to through the city.
Proper attire must be worn and your bicycle must be properly equipped. Riders should wear a helmet and have a red reflector on the back.
“Now, we would advise if you are riding at night, a red light helps too, it just makes you so much more visible but statute only requires a red reflector on the back and a light on the front and your helmet,” Hauptman said.
There are many different of options to choose from when thinking about the correct light.
“A lot of times the tail lights are flashing and that makes them very visible to the vehicles,” said HPD Lt. Brandon Wright. “There all kinds of headlights. They can attach a flashlight they already have, there are all kinds of bike specific lights at all price ranges available at local bike stores and on the Internet.”
And regarding those markings that have the community buzzing, Wright believes they are a good idea.
“It’s new and it takes a while for people to understand what’s going on. We are very excited about these. They are going to make the road safer,” he said. “We have a lot of bicycle-vehicle accidents occur while bicyclist is on the sidewalk and crossing alleys, driveways and jetting out into the street without stopping.”
According to Wright, “A lot of those bike lane markings are in the middle of the driving lane, people are curious as to what that means. Well, as you look through the map and look through town, some areas you’re going to see bike lanes. These are going to be the white lines with the bike symbols in them, those are bike lanes. Vehicles or pedestrians should not be traveling through those.”
In other parts of town, bike markings in the middle of the road are designed to help lead cyclists to routes, which have been designed to use stop signs and connect to schools and parks.
Wright believes this will help “increase the safety for drivers as well and make sure you are aware when there are bicycles in the roadway. There are dotted bike lane lines are solid then go dotted and that is where vehicles are able to cross over.”
“If you are going to pass, you have to give at least 3-foot clearance at minimum. The other part of that is make sure it is safe to do so that there are no vehicles coming, because you are going to move over a little bit to give them a bit of room, if it’s safe to do so,” Hauptman added.
In regards to using bike trails, Wright said, “The striped bike lanes you still need to travel in the same direction as the vehicles, if there is only a bike lane on one side of the street, that’s not for two-way bike travel. You still should be riding in the same direction as the traffic flows in the street.”
“We think this is going to increase safety for bicyclists in the city and hopefully encourage people to get out and use those bikes,” he added.
Hauptman added cyclists are prohibited from using sidewalks in business districts, and also said the lanes will help cyclists avoid riding in the gutter, which is often filled with loose gravel or other debris.
For all questions you may have regarding bike safety and the bike lanes, you can visit the website bikehays.com.