City Government
Garden City Bike Ban Remains, Court Date Set
May 31, 2011 
City officials in Garden City continue to run up the legal bill to fight bicyclists seeking to enforce an agreement to allow two wheelers to peddle along the greenbelt north shore west of Glenwood.
They will have to defend their decision to ban bike riding in a lawsuit filed by the Citizens for an Open Greenbelt (COG) in a trial set for February 21, 2012.
The city application to the Idaho Parks Department for a grant of more than $800,000 to build a pedestrian bridge was turned down by Parks. The city never had the Corps of Engineers sign off on the application and the grant would have eaten up most of the state funds for local projects if awarded.
It looked like the bridge project would have been an attempt to mitigate the access issue by rerouting bikes from the north to the south bank of the river. As it stands now, the cyclists will be banned for another season, but their court case has not been bolstered.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
May 31, 2011, 5:38 pm
When this is all resolved to allow bikes, I hope we can find some way to make bieter’s best buddy (and equally clueless) personally responsible. What a waste of the taxpayers money! Is there a ‘stupid’ meter a candiddate must attain to become mayor?
May 31, 2011, 8:23 pm
Sure – because there should never be anywhere a pedestrian can go and not be potentially run down by a racing bicyclist. Not in the foothills (where no biker ever dismounts to let a hiker pass), not in the streets (where bikes can ride on sidewalks even though there are bike lanes) and certainly never on the Greenbelt on one side of the River for one stinkin mile or so.
May 31, 2011, 11:29 pm
Aww! Mouse, you are just bitter because your house down there has dropped 25% in value. The only thing COG is asking is that the green belt be used as it was originally designed. A path along the river that is to be used by BOTH pedestrians and cyclists! Nothing more, nothing less.
Jun 1, 2011, 9:16 am
Nan… using your logic (and Mayor Evans’), cars should be banned from all streets, because a few motorists choose to drive drunk!
Are “racing bicyclists” a problem on the Greenbelt? DUH! Anybody who has walked the Greenbelt, at least on a nice day, has probably been flustered by Lance-Armstrong-wannabe. (If your ears are plugged with your ‘phones, and you’re startled by a cyclist… no sympathy from me!)
Boise’s Greenbelt has a suggested 15mph top speed. Garden City seems to be “wild west” – no rules except the ones banning some people all of the time, and all people some of the time.
Likewise causing problems on the Greenbelt are people with critters on long leashes (or no leash), zig-zagging young ‘uns, pedestrians who walk side-by-side, taking up the entire width of the path, or stopping to chit-chat dead center in the path. Let’s ban ’em all! Or, on the other hand, maybe we (particularly cyclists!) just need to work a little harder to encourage common courtesy.
Jun 1, 2011, 10:13 am
Garden City’s defense of this will look pretty silly after reading the original agreement. “Bike path” is clearly spelled out.
http://www.idahocog.org/Docs/1980.11.10%20Agreement.pdf
Garden City should settle this quickly as possible as to save face and taxpayer monies.
Jun 1, 2011, 11:46 am
Never had a problem with a bicyclist, other than perhaps some amatuers, but I’ve had numerous problems with pedestrians who look right at me but apparently don’t see me, pedestrians who suddenly veer as if they are having a spasm, and (my favorite) like 5 to 10 women walking next to each other, like some kind of juggernaut plowing down anything remotely in the path and acting very dismayed if anyone might interfere with their journey. Also, the morons who have those dog leashes that stretch out to like 20 feet (ran right over a few of those).
Jun 1, 2011, 3:00 pm
Wow! The term “bicycle path” (paved) is in the conveyance document/agreement and exhibit –
Doesn’t look good for GC.
Any way we can get a look at the complaint that was filed, GC’s answer, and any other publicly filed documents online? Were there any dispository motions/motions for summary judgment filed? Results?
Keep after ’em, and best of luck!
Jun 1, 2011, 4:39 pm
I don’t live in garden city. I don’t live along the greenbelt. I use the greenbelt and the foothills trails and notice how the bikes don’t care about the pedestrians. I don’t mind sharing the path with bikes but they apparently don’t like to share with peds.
A short 1-2 mile section without bikes doesn’t hurt bikes but helps peds. Can’t have that though can we?
Jun 1, 2011, 9:38 pm
Dan, Here is the complete works. Lots of history about agreements and settlements.
http://www.idahocog.org/rich_text_4.html
Jun 1, 2011, 9:48 pm
Hey Mouse! There is a real easy-peasy solution to your problem. Buy a bike!!!!
Jun 2, 2011, 7:07 am
Dan – Send an email to [email protected] and we will send you any and all the court filings but I suspect you would want to see the complaint against GC and their response.
Jun 2, 2011, 9:42 am
Eons ago – ok 20 or so years ago I used to love riding along the Green Belt with my two daughters. It was a great place to ride as well as a wonderful opportunity to teach responsible biking to the kids…. be polite, share the space, smile, speak to people as you approach, etc.
Those years are long gone as are the friendly years when I felt safe taking kids with me to ride down Capital Blvd. This may be a sweet, small town to people who have moved here, but they appear to have chosen to change it by forgetting to leave their attitudes where they came from.
I no longer find the Green Belt a nice place to walk or ride a bike (bikers are at fault, too). I would never take my grandkids biking on the major roads. And I don’t like the road owning attitudes of most people wearing their bike gang uniforms as they rudely zip down the roads.
It is no longer my old Boise. Sorry Cyclops, but two wheelers are also to blame.
Jun 4, 2011, 8:01 am
Sorry but i’m beginning to get a bad a attitude for these bikers. Dashing across roads in front of you, acting rude with rude gestures. Not just the guy’s but the ladys are just as bad.
Sep 26, 2011, 1:28 pm
Hey Nan,
I do live along the greenbelt (in Eagle) and use my bike to commute to work almost daily. Your statement that “a short 1-2 mile section without bikes doesn’t hurt bikes but helps peds,” is short-sided. Two years ago, directly because of the detours around the dismount zone, I was hit by a car pulling onto State St. This would never have happened if I could have stayed on the greenbelt.