City officials in Atlanta, Georgia, are close to voting on an new ordinance that would impose a huge fine on truck drivers who park in bike lanes.
Next Monday, the Atlanta City Council will vote on a proposal that would increase the fine for truck drivers for parking in a bike lane to $1000 (a 4000% increase), according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Even attended trucks would be subject to the fine.
The fine increase has already been approved by the city of Atlanta’s public safety and transportation committee.
Currently, parking in bike lanes is illegal but the fine is only $25. The proposal would also increase the fine for passenger vehicle drivers to $100.
The proposed ordinance reads:
No person shall stop, leave standing, or park any motor vehicle operated separately or in combination with any trailer or semitrailer which has either two axles with six or more tires or three or more axles, whether attended or unattended, on any portion of a bicycle route, bicycle lane, or multi-use trail within the city’s municipal street system and on extensions of a county road system within the city’s corporate limits, including but not limited to areas for loading and unloading, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic, or in compliance with the directions of a peace officer or official traffic control device. Any person violating this provision shall be deemed guilty of an offense and upon conviction, shall be fined $1,000.00.
The increased fine proposal was authored in part by Councilwoman Carla Smith, who says that “when (bicyclists) have to go around a car, that’s not fair.”