Newspaper Page Text
CITY PA GES
bicycle license
Athens-Clarke Counts
EX*"*™*
,,CEMSt 05-20-03
3068526490
last BETH
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ot-20-98
LIKE A FISH
LICENSE?
Commissioners consider
licensing bikers
One of the many items covered at the
County Commission's budget worksession
on the afternoon of May 12 was the pro
posed commitment of $50,000 for
bike lanes, signs, and bus bike
racks. The city is hoping the money
will serve as matching funds that
will help land a $200,000 grant of fed
eral funds for the bicycle safety pro
grams.
Mention of the $50,000 didn't
cause much of a stir. However, when
the item was brought up.
Commissioner Tom Chasteen (Dist. 9)
took the opportunity to relate an inci
dent that had happened to him that
day. Apparently, a daredevil bike rider
in front of Chasteen’s car had violated
the rules of the road, running a red
light at high speed. The commissioner
made the point that some cyclists are creat
ing hazardous situations for drivers by not
taking the law seriously and were difficult to
cite since they aren’t required to carry any
form of ID when riding.
Commissioner Marilyn Farmer (Dist. 6)
agreed. She said if the government is going
to start providing services for cyclists. “I still
think we need to start licensing [them], and
talking about violators." County Manager Al
Crace then said a few words abodt use of
public roadways being a privilege and not a
right.
The discussion seemed to smack of
cyclist-bashing to Commissioner Ken Jordan
(Dist. 8). who defended the integrity of the
cycling activists who approach commission
ers weekly to speak in favor of pro-bike
action. “Don't start going off on the people
who come before us." he said. “They’re
obeying the rules of the road "
However.
this may not be your typical us-against-
them story: Elizabeth Crisfield, co-chair of
the Athens-Clarke County Safe Cycling
Association, told Flagpole she'd support a
bicycle operator’s license “My personal feel
ing is that it would be a good thing for
cyclists." she sa d. “It would give us. in dri
vers' eyes, a more legitimate right to the
road "
Crisfield said she'd like to see fees collect
ed for such a license go only to the establish
ment of bicycle lanes and would oppose a
licensing program altogether if it made
cyclists “a target for police."
Of course, there are those to whom the
concept smacks of the old Monty Python
“fish license" sketch. For Scott Joyce, a long
time rider and manager of Sunshine Cycle
Shop, cyclists need a license like, well, a fish
needs a bicycle.
“That is a foreign idea to me,"
Joyce said. “And I think it’s a for
eign concept to most people. My
dad used to say. ‘It's like going
around your elbow to get to your
thumb’... if you want to enforce
the laws, enforce the laws."
Joyce also said he believes
many residents will balk on any
new tax on bikes.
If the local government does
find a way to issue operators
licenses, it might be a novel
experiment, at least in the
United States. Donald Tighe. pro
gram director for the League of
American Bicyclists, a
Washington. D.C.-based advocacy
group, says he is unaware of a system to
license bike operators anywhere in the coun
try. He also said the idea just might work.
“That kind of effort can be... a great mecha
nism to help the youth understand the rules
of the road." he said.
Municipalities across the country offer
bicycle licenses, but these are usually more
like license plates — stickers that allow
police to trace stolen bikes back to their
rightful owners. (Richard Fausset)
THE USDA
LISTENS
An update on the new
proposed organic standards
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
announced May 8 that the U.S. Department
of Agriculture would revise aspects of their
proposal for national organic standards that
co-op folks found unacceptable.
Currently, there is no national standard
for organic certification of food products.
The new proposal for nationwide standards
met with criticism around the country and
here in Athens for a number of reasons, but
activists mainly disapproved of the old pro
posals’ acceptance of genetic engineering,
irradiation and the use of sewage sludge.
Those methods will no longer be acceptable
under the new. proposed standards.
“If organic farmers and consumers reject
our national standards, we have failed."
Glickman said in a prepared press release.
“Our task is to stimulate the growth of organ
ic agriculture, ensure that consumers have
confidence in the products that bear the
organic label, and develop export markets
for this growing industry."
Chris Spamicht of Daily Groceries Co-op
says Daily, Phoenix Market and Zucchini’s
Natural Foods banded together to educate
their shoppers and organize them to get the
message up to Washington. He said they'll be
keeping tabs on the USDA as the revised pro
posals are put together. (RF)
the athens music © arts festival
Artist MarKet
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Sunday, July 19, 3pm-8pm
OVER $1200 IN PRIZES & AWARDS
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Lyndon House Art Center located at The Morton Theater
online at www.AthFest.com, or Call Pat MCaffrey at (706) 742-5734
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D FLAGPOLE MAY 20, 1998
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