Idaho Stop.
No, that’s not the name of the new North American Professional Lacrosse League entry. It’s a generic term related to a law that allows people on bicycles not to come to full stops at stop signs.
It gets its name going way back to the early 1980s when the state of Idaho established the first law in the U.S. granting cyclists the right to “coast” through stop signs. Since then, many states have passed similar legislation. Minnesota is the latest when the 2023 state Legislature approved Minnesota’s version of the Idaho stop. It went into effect on Aug. 1.
Now a cyclist may treat a stop sign as a yield sign. This doesn’t mean that they can just blow through a stop sign. The cyclist needs to slow to a speed where they can easily stop if the situation demands.
They still must stop at red lights. Although, if the light uses a sensor that doesn’t detect them, they can proceed after a reasonable wait time.
In the slightly more than a week, have there been any incidents in Eden Prairie relative to Idaho stop?
No, according to Sgt. Tom Lowery of the Eden Prairie Police Department.
“Even before the new law, we had very few incidents or accidents involving cyclists, at least ones where we got involved,” Lowery added.
Eden Prairie has a fair number of bike paths and trails scattered throughout the city, but next to no bike lanes which are the dedicated portions of roadways reserved for bike use.
“There is one small one about a half mile in length on Pioneer Trail by Riley Lake,” says John Jarvis, an avid bike user and early proponent of the Idaho stop law. “But it doesn’t have a wide enough shoulder.”
The lack of bike lanes means that in Eden Prairie, bikes are more intermingled with cars.
Stop signs are fairly annoying for bicycles, Jarvis claims.
“A cyclist generally has only 100 watts of power to play with,” he said. “A mid-size car has 150,000 watts to play with. Getting re-started after a full stop is a significant effort for a bicycle. In a gridded street layout with stop signs every two blocks, the requirement to stop is a significant impediment to travel.”
Jarvis argues that the smoother traffic flow for all is an upside for cars.
“For example, if a cyclist arrives at a four-way stop ahead of a car at a cross intersection and thus has the right-of-way, not having to fully stop gets the cyclist across the street faster and the car at the cross intersection on his way sooner,” he said.
How will motorists and cyclists react to the new law?
“There will likely be some friction as both cyclists and cars get used to the new normal,” Jarvis said.
“Haters will have something new to hate. This gives both cyclists and drivers new opportunities to be jerks.”
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