Flagstaff modernizes their city bike codes

The Flagstaff City Council gave final approval to Ordinance No. 2011-26, which makes a number of revisions to Title 9, Chapter 5 of the Flagstaff City Code, which regulates the operation of bicycles.
The changes include the following…

1. Modifies definitions and regulations to (for the most part) match Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 
2. Modifies the language of the “ride right” rule to match ARS; adds exceptions for situations when cyclists should leave the right side of the roadway for safety 
3. Removes requirement for bicyclists to ride in a bike lane and replaces it with the “ride right” rule 
4. Removes the “sidepath law” which requires bicyclists to ride on a path adjacent to the road when one is provided 
5. Eliminates mandatory bicycle registration; adds a provision requiring the Police Department to provide for voluntary registration 
6. Requires bicyclists on sidewalks and paths to yield to pedestrians and provide an audible warning when overtaking pedestrians 
7. Removes several sections that were confusing, contradicted the normal rules of the road, and discriminated against bicyclists 

These revisions were discussed by the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee for several years, and are a significant step forward for bicyclists in Flagstaff

You can view the actual ordinace mark-ups at the link above; The Flagstaff city bike page has some more details about the proposals. There's a really great document the Martin prepared that shows side-by-side in colors the old code, new code, and explanation.  FlagstaffCityCodeBicyclesRevisions.pdf

You can view Flagstaff's City Code in full online. Bicycle-related codes are in Title 9 Traffic; then 9-05 Bicycles. It usually takes some time until the updates get reflected there.

Here, for posterity, is a copy of the bad codes; all seem to have been passed in 1973 (Ord. 903, 11-9-73), and includes mandatory bike lane use as well as mandatory sidepath use (9-05-001-0005 and 9-05-001-0016 which prohibits leaving a bike lane), plus the "right-hooking cyclists in bike lanes is okay" rule 9-05-001-0015.