Manitou Springs becomes “Safe Stop City” in effort to reduce auto-bike crashes
MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Manitou Springs is taking on some adjusted traffic rules for bicyclists and drivers and categorizing themselves as a "Safe Stop City" to reduce crashes involving cars and bikes, according to a release from the city.
In a "Safe Stop City," anyone on a bicycle can treat stop signs as yields and stop lights as stop signs. The change comes after the Manitou Springs City Council passed Ordinance NO. 1221, and will cost taxpayers nothing.
“If a cyclist for instance is coming up to a stop sign, they wouldn’t necessarily have to come to a complete stop," said John Graham, Manitou Springs Mayor. "They’d scope out the intersection, yield to any oncoming traffic, yield to pedestrians, and if it’s safe to proceed then they’re allowed to do that.”
Manitou Springs hopes the law will reduce traffic in the city, which often experiences heavy congestion. When implemented in other municipalities, it also brought a drastic decrease in crashes between drivers and bicyclists.
"The gist of it is public safety," said Mayor Graham. "A law like this was enacted in Delaware and they’ve seen about a 23 percent decrease in bicycle accidents. You can imagine, it’s pretty typical for accidents to be concentrated in intersections.”
All bicyclists in Manitou Springs are still responsible for approaching intersections at a safe rate of speed, and for yielding to drivers and pedestrians. If bike riders are more comfortable coming to a complete stop – they are free to do so.
This change only applies to cyclists and people on electric bikes. Anyone on a motorcycle needs to follow the same road rules as drivers.
“Our hope is it will reduce congestion overall," said Mayor Graham. "Manitou gets congested on busy days, so if we can move people along, and not aggravate the problem, that’d be a good thing.”
The group ‘Bicycle Colorado’ has been advocating for this change and hopes to one day see a state law allowing cyclists all over Colorado to roll through stop signs and pause at red lights.
