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community discussion about enforcement. She said she would urge OUTBoard to look not <br /> only at enforcement, with the exception of legislative issues. <br /> John Roberts asked if the BOCC is seeking for the legislature to apply laws to <br /> bicyclists. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said not necessarily. She said she is interested in hearing what <br /> the public would suggest the BOCC consider as a legislative issue. <br /> John Roberts said the North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) does include bicycles <br /> and they are subject to same laws as motorists, where applicable. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said the State had a concerted effort regarding pedestrian <br /> safety and maybe the same can be done with bicyclists. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said there are long-term plans for bicycle lanes in the rural <br /> areas of the County, but they are far out and are expensive. She said the State has cut <br /> funding for pedestrian and bike projects this year, and bike lanes are too costly for the County <br /> to consider. <br /> Commissioner Burroughs suggested looking at the Grange resolution, at a minimum. <br /> She asked if cyclists can be penalized in the same way as drivers of vehicles. <br /> John Roberts said yes, the statute is very clear that the laws applicable to drivers apply <br /> equally to cyclists. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is an advantage of a subcommittee over a task <br /> force. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said from her perspective a task force would require appointments <br /> from the Board of County Commissioners and a sub committee can have community input and <br /> meetings without the formal process. <br /> Commissioner Price said the task force is more formal and the sub-committee could <br /> continue what it has been doing. She would like the group to do the work and have community <br /> participation. <br /> Commissioner Rich said this resolution is incomplete and asked if there are next steps. <br /> Chair McKee said the item could be sent back to staff and create a task force or sub- <br /> committee. <br /> Chair McKee said this item is not ready for prime time and he would prefer deferment. <br /> He said Commissioner Pelissier said many of the Board members have served on <br /> transportation groups and added that many bike projects do not get funded. He said his main <br /> concern is not for individual riders, but rather the groups of riders of 25-50 or more. He said <br /> the issue of identifying cyclists is a real problem and he believes the conversation must include <br /> the topic of licensing bikes on the road in order to identify individuals. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said she would suggest that the Board send it back to staff for a <br /> recommendation, which staff will bring back after the holiday break. She said she would meet <br /> with the OUTBoard Chair and also the Sheriff to ask him to respond to the Board of County <br /> Commissioners at a public meeting. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said a resolution can come back to the Board but this may be <br /> an on-going issue. She said all of the advisory boards do a work plan each year and to put <br /> these items in the OUTBoard work plan. <br /> Commissioner Price said the community just wanted to be heard on this issue. She <br /> said she was required to have a bike license as a child so it is not a foreign idea. <br /> Commissioner Rich suggested talking to the County's Communication Department to <br /> see what would be the best way to bring this education forward to County visitors. <br /> Chair McKee said there was an issue with deer hunting years ago and it came down to <br /> printing the laws and placing them everywhere in the County. He said making the laws readily <br /> available is one tool to address this issue. <br />