City Council just approved some updates to the Master Fee Schedule, including a few important changes that affect street safety. One of these updates is a new violation to align with California’s “daylighting” law. More on that in this post from The Morning Bun.
The other update focuses on blocking bike lanes, which continues to be a big issue in our city.
What’s Changing — and What’s Not
Bike Walk Alameda supported these proposed changes in a letter to City Council, but also recommended that the fine for blocking a bike lane be raised. Why? Because many cities that prioritize street safety charge significantly more for this violation. A higher fine could be a stronger deterrent.
During the Council meeting, Alameda’s Public Works Director proposed changing the code originally suggested in the draft to a more appropriate one: California Vehicle Code (CVC) 21211.
But here’s where it got tricky.
So… Can We Use That Law?
There’s some confusion about CVC 21211. The way it’s written makes it sound like it might only apply to off-street bike paths (known as “Class I bikeways”). Alameda’s staff currently believes it doesn’t apply to on-street painted bike lanes (aka “Class II bikeways”), like the ones on Park, Webster, and Santa Clara.
Because of that interpretation, the City plans to add it for citing infractions on bike paths, but to keep using a more general municipal code they’ve been using — one that applies to parking in a “non-parking spot” — for on-street bike lane violations.
The fine for the newly-added code was set to $75, and the fine for the more general municipal code infraction was increased to match it.
The net is that enforcement is broader and blocking bike lanes will incur a slightly higher fine than before.
But by not specifically citing on-street bike lane blockages using CVC 21211, the City misses out on important benefits.
Why Specific Bike Lane Tickets Matter
Using a general “no parking” citation doesn’t tell us what’s really happening. We lose out on a lot of valuable data about where bike lanes are being blocked, how often, and by whom. That data could help us identify problem areas, push for improvements, and track progress over time.
Plus, there’s a missed opportunity to send a clear public message that needs to be reinforced: Keeping bike lanes clear is important.
Clearing Up the Confusion
Bike Walk Alameda reached out to Robert Prinz, Director of Advocacy at Bike East Bay, for clarity. He confirmed that CVC 21211 absolutely can — and should — be used to cite drivers for blocking on-street bike lanes. In fact, cities across California have been doing this for years. Oakland’s citation data portal here shows 8000 examples in that city alone since just 2018.
What’s Next?
Bike Walk Alameda is encouraging the City to start using CVC 21211 for all bike lane violations. It’s clearer, it’s more accurate, and will serve us better.
We’ll also keep pushing for improved enforcement, so tickets actually get issued. And of course, we’ll keep pushing for more protected bike lanes that make illegal parking and unsafe conditions far less likely in the first place.
Stay tuned.