City of Somerville, Massachusetts - File #: 202626

• File #: 202626
• Version: 1
• Type: Ordinance
• Status: Placed on File
• File created: 1/10/2017
• In control: City Council
• On agenda: 1/12/2017
• Final action: 5/11/2017
• Enactment date: 5/11/2017
• Enactment #: 202626
• Title: Proposing an Ordinance to safeguard vulnerable road users.
• Sponsors: Lance L. Davis, Mark Niedergang, Mary Jo Rossetti, Matthew McLaughlin, Dennis M. Sullivan, Katjana Ballantyne, Robert J. McWatters, Maryann M. Heuston, William A. White Jr.
• Code sections: Ordinance Not Zoning -
• Related files: 203463

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
5/11/2017	8	City Council	Placed on file
5/4/2017	7	Legislative Matters Committee	Approved as amended
4/20/2017	6	Legislative Matters Committee	Kept in committee
4/6/2017	5	Legislative Matters Committee	Kept in committee
3/16/2017	4	Legislative Matters Committee	Kept in committee
2/16/2017	3	Legislative Matters Committee	Kept in committee
1/12/2017	2	City Council	Referred for recommendation

Agenda Text
title
Proposing an Ordinance to safeguard vulnerable road users.

body
Official Text
WHEREAS: Collisions with large vehicles are disproportionately likely to result in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities; and
WHEREAS: Researchers from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe Center in Kendall Square recently worked with the cities of Boston and Cambridge, among others, to identify effective mechanisms for deploying enhanced safety measures such as truck side guards and blind-spot mirrors to reduce cyclist and pedestrian fatalities; and
WHEREAS: Both Boston and Cambridge have recently implemented programs to expand the deployment of such enhanced safety measures; and
WHEREAS: A mandatory side guard program in the United Kingdom resulted in a 61 percent reduction in cyclist fatalities and a 20 percent reduction in pedestrian fatalities in side-impact collisions with trucks; and
WHEREAS: It is in the interests of the City of Somerville to establish clear and effective requirements for the installation of enhanced safety measures on certain city vehicles and vehicles used by vendors contracting with the city; NOW THEREFORE BE IT
ORDERED: That the following “Ordinance to Safeguard Vulnerable Road Users” is established to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety.
Ordinance To Safeguard Vulnerable Road Users
1. Purpose
Vehicles covered by this ordinance shall be so constructed and/or equipped as to offer effective protection to vulnerable road users against the risk of falling under the sides of the vehicle and being caught under the wheels, and against the risk of being struck due to limited visibility from the operator’s viewpoint and the lack of side-visible turn signals.
2. Definitions
The words defined in this ordinance shall have the meanings set forth below whenever they appear in this section unless the context in which they are used clearly requires a different meaning, or a different definition is prescribed for a particular paragraph or provis...