Mercer Island to bicyclists:
“Happy Bike to Work Day; here's your ticket”

All the good bicycling love shown around the Puget Sound for Friday's Bike to Work Day didn't prevent the Mercer Island police from keeping a watchful eye open for cyclists blowing stop signs.

These two riders, I obscured their faces, told me Friday morning that they were being ticketed for not stopping at the stop sign on 84th Avenue SE at SE 26th Street (that's at the lower entrance to Luther Burbank Park).

I was unable to interview them about how flagrant they considered their violation after the patrolman asked me to “Please move along” — three times — even though I was off the road in the yard across the street.

History

Mercer Island is the through-route for cyclists commuting between Bellevue in the east and Seattle in the west. Cyclists take either the bike-ped path that roughly follows the I-90 freeway or the residential streets.

I personally try to avoid the path because it's frequented by inattentive pedestrians, people pushing strollers, other speeding cyclists, and people walking their dogs with and without leashes.

The residential streets seem the better bet for many cyclists, in spite of a few stop signs. Bicycle riders regard the stop signs at the top and bottom of the hill on 84th Avenue SE near the Luther Burbank Park and community center with varying degrees of “clip out” to “rolling” stops.

Warning

Cyclists at the Cascade Bicycle Club community forum warned that enforcement appeared to pick up in May. One reported a cyclist receiving two $124 tickets for blowing the signs at the bottom and top of the hill.

About this time last year, I tried to get a confirmation of what is considered a “stop” on Mercer Island. From reading “Where is enforcement; what is stop?” you'll see that a legitimate “stop” is a judgment call by the policeman at the scene.

While one officer said it was unreasonable to expect the foot to come down, another said a “complete stop” in the Revised Code of Washington means the wheels are not moving.

Bike to Work

So, when you're heading back across the bridges this afternoon and you hit Mercer Island, I'd recommend coming to a full stop, even if it means unclipping. A $124 ticket would certainly add unexpected costs to an otherwise inexpensive, gasoline-free commute.