The Warwick City Council met back on October 20th to vote on whether or not to pass a resolution requiring motorists to give cyclists a reasonable amount of room when passing. The resolution passed unanimously! I managed to get my hands on a copy of the resolution, the most important portion of which reads:
NOW, TEHREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council of the City of Warwick hereby requests the General Assembly to enact legislation similar to the laws that have been enacted in the States of Florida and New Hampshire to require a three foot passing distance between motor vehicles passing bicycles, and if it is impossible to achieve the three foot passing distance, then the vehicle shall reduce it’s speed to 10-20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit and provide for a penality requiring a fine, community service, and license suspension.
The City of Warwick will be forwarding a copy of this resolution to all 39 cities and towns in RI. I’d encourage everyone to contact your local city/town administrators and encourage them to support Warwick and do what they can to encourage the General Assembly to take this matter up.