Cyclists and Prairie Village Police, one year later

This time last year the big story in the bike community was the Prairie Village Police Department cracking down on cyclists who break traffic laws in big group rides. The Johnson County Bicycle Club stepped in to mediate the dispute, and they reached a good understanding the police department.  JCBC recently held a follow-up meeting with police, detailed below by President Ken Cobb.

A year ago a group of cyclists from the JCBC met with the Prairie Village police to work out issues that had arisen in that city. This resulted in a statement of share the road principles that were circulated at that time. They are set out below this e-mail.

The PV Police asked to meet again for an update, and we did so yesterday. The police emphasized again that they are trying to enforce the traffic laws in PV neutrally between motorists and cyclists. We confirmed that the statement of principles still stands. The Prairie Village police are responsible for both PV
and Mission Hills. The PV police have talked to other area police departments know about this list, and we think it may be unofficially followed by some other departments as well.

Three issues came up at our meeting that bear special mention.

One is the traffic light at 75th St. and Mission. It will not trip for cyclists, and there is no pedestrian button on the right side of the intersection. Some riders recently were ticketed for running this light at 5:30 AM, despite stopping first and then proceeding. The police chief, Wes Jordan, was not aware of this, and he promised to look into it. He is going to try to get the sensor changed so this light will trip. Failing that, he hopes to move the pedestrian button to the east side of the road for southbound drivers.

Unfortunately Kansas does not yet have the law that Missouri does, allowing cyclists to treat the light as a stop sign if it won’t trip for a cyclist.

The second issue is the condition of some of the streets in Prairie Village, most specifically Somerset between Roe and Nall. We told the police that the roadway is so pot-holed near the curb that cyclists have to ride farther out in the lane than normal. We don’t want to be ticketed for not “riding as far to the right as practicable”, which is what is required by Kansas law. Mr. Jordan
said that due to budget cuts, we might not see improvement in streets like Somerset this year, but he understands the need to ride farther from the curb on that stretch.

Third, the big evening group rides have slipped back into some riding conduct that could be ticketed if it continues. I am referring to the tendency for some riders to ride three or four abreast, to weave in and out as if the ride was a race, and to run lights in order to avoid being dropped. That is the type of conduct that caused negative public feedback to the police about those rides
last year. It is also conduct that caused a major accident with injuries to at least two cyclists on Tomahawk Creek Parkway in Leawood this past Tuesday evening.

On the other hand, there are other riders in the evening group rides who ride along slowly, two or three abreast, which causes other safety concerns.

To address these things, the PV Police soon plan to speak to the larger riding groups who ride through Prairie Village on their regular routes. They will meet with the riders before they set out on those rides. They will talk to the 75th Street Brewery riders, the Brookside riders, and the Blue Moose riders.

Ken Cobb
President
Johnson County Bicycle Club

Sharing the Road Principles
Stop Signs
• Make complete stops.
• Riders can proceed as one group after stopping together.
• Each group must be small enough to get through without impeding cross traffic.
• Don’t swarm or creep past stopped cars, either side (same for stop lights)

Stop Lights
• Individual riders can enter the intersection on yellow, but not on red.
• Trailing riders in a group may be ticketed if they enter on red.
• It’s okay to consolidate at a red light in order to clear the intersection faster.

Riding Single and Double File
• Never more than double file except when passing.
• Merge to single file on two-lane streets when cars are back.
• Ride single file on busy two-lane streets.
• Ride as far right as practicable, whether in single or double file.

Passing
• Complete the pass promptly.
• Do not impede trailing cars.
• Pass all the way to the next break in the group.