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Albuquerque bike law outdated, councilor says
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The law
"No person who resides within the city, or uses a bicycle in connection with employment within the city, shall ride or propel a bicycle on any street or upon any public path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles within the city unless such bicycle has been registered by the city and the registration tag issued for that bicycle is attached thereto as provided in this article."
Source: Albuquerque Code of Ordinances.
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Sure, they may try to feign interest in getting exercise, enjoying the outdoors or saving the planet, but bicyclists in Albuquerque have a dirty little secret: They're all criminals.
Buried in the city's traffic code is a little-known provision requiring all bicyclists to register and affix a special tag to their rides. Flouting that law is a petty misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and 90 days in the slammer.
At least it is now. City Councilor Martin Heinrich has introduced a measure to repeal that section of law, because, among other reasons, the city doesn't operate a registration program.
"I'm not sure if they used to, but apparently they don't now," he said. "If you're not going to implement the law, why have it on the books?"
The city used to have such a program, said Jay Hart, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, but neither he nor anyone else contacted by The Tribune on Tuesday could remember exactly when.
"It was before my time," Hart said. "It just hasn't been enforced."
Well, not regularly at least. Heinrich said he heard about it from a constituent who got in trouble for something else, but ended up with a ticket for his failure to register his bike.
"I think they got a little overzealous," Heinrich said of the officer who wrote the ticket.
Across the city, in fact, bicyclists knowingly flout the law.
"I've kind of heard of it," said Jake Inman, a salesman at Albuquerque Bicycle Center on Juan Tabo Boulevard Northeast. "I don't think it's the best idea."
Said Greater Albuquerque Bicycle Advisory Committee Chairman Eric Russell: "Nobody does it."
The flagrant disregard for the social contract extends to the highest halls of power. Mayor Martin Chavez admitted Tuesday to not having registered his bike, despite using it in a promotional video on the city's Web site.
Heinrich copped a "mea culpa," too. He occasionally rides his bike to work and even implicated one of his own in the conspiracy to ignore the city law.
"I'm pretty sure that Councilor (Isaac) Benton is a scofflaw, as well," he said.
