Revisiting: On cycling, taxes, and fallacies
So, it’s been a few months since I put down my thoughts on cycling, taxes, and fallacies and have been happy with the positive response it’s been receiving. This came to mind again recently when I got a message through tumblr by a well known local opponent of bicycles. Specifically, that apparently the Massachusetts Chapter 90 Program somehow invalidates the point that we all pay for the roads and changes the fact that the roads in question are ‘public ways’, which is exactly what that sounds like - routes and paths provided by society as a public good.
It is stated very clearly in Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title XIV, Chapter 85, Section 11B that:
Every person operating a bicycle upon a way, as defined in section one of chapter ninety, shall have the right to use all public ways in the commonwealth except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bicycles have been posted
The section continues with how cyclists are supposed to follow the rules of the road, just like cars with certain specific exceptions, such as: bicycles are allowed to pass on the right and cyclists are allowed to ride two abreast.
Along those lines and deviating from the initial point a bit, BostInno recently had a great article pleading for more cyclists to lead by example regarding running red lights and generally making the rest of us look bad. I certainly hope motorists appreciate when I’m stopped at a red light.
Other people in other states have also written pieces about who pays for the road incase anyone wants to read more on this subject:
- Seattle, WA - http://publicola.com/2010/08/31/we-all-pay-for-the-roads/
- Washington, DC - http://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/07/standard-response-2-cyclists-dont-pay.html
- Sonoma, CA - http://cycling.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10129/you-dont-pay-road-taxes-so/
Thanks to Todd R. for some extra research
