You are hereReminder: Avoid the 6th St. barricades if you don't want a ticket
Reminder: Avoid the 6th St. barricades if you don't want a ticket
Just got a message from a local cyclist who was stopped on 6th St. for passing a barricade last night:
So I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced what we did tonight, but I figured it should be known.
A few buddies and I, 5 of us total ran a barricade going onto 6th street from 35 after Fabulous Fixed Fast Friday run by Jimmi, when we were promptly chased down as well as signaled by cops infront of us to stop. They asked us to present our ID's and just told us basically that the next time they saw us we'd be goin to jail? So for the record, don't run barricades on 6th street, just take 8th, or 4th. And avoid this experience if possible.
Just though I should pass it on,
Paul
Remember kiddos, when riding around the 6th St. area on a night that the cops have the street locked down and barricaded, use the ALLEYS! There's one on each side, it's just as fast as navigating the crowds, and the cops don't USUALLY pull you off your bike simply for riding if you stick to the back alleys. I know it's not cool, but it is how it is. If you have to be on 6th St, either walk that bike or be prepared to have to bail when the cops see you.
Is it somewhat disconcerting to anyone else that they're threatening jail for what is in essence a sidewalk violation? I mean all they're doing is biking through a pedestrian area, something incredible easy to accomplish by any cyclist with a modicum of skill without causing any problems. Man the cops are really taking this stuff seriously.
I "ran" a barricade at 12th & Chicon last Juneteenth (at least an hour before the parade was scheduled to start). I thought I'd made eye contact with the motorcycle cop and everything was cool, but no. Even though I missed getting hit by an oblivious minivan two blocks later, I got a ticket and the "you're a vehicle too" speech. The fine for this heinous crime isn't printed on the back of the ticket with the more common violations, so I hired a lawyer to be safe. I got off with court costs (not cheap), the choice of taking a defensive driving course (yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds) or 5 hours community service (which I opted for), and 6 months bicycle probation... which means the violation would stick if I got stopped for committing another 'crime' while on a bike, but not, the prosecutor assured me, while on foot or in a car. Later the court clerk said I must have a good lawyer because the fine would have been $398.
Welcome to Austin.
I was ordered to get off of the bike @ Trinity and 6th while crossing 6th. I just stepped off and kept walking. The coppers yelled me down b/c I didn't stop.
I asked them what, specifically, I was doing wrong. They said the barricade closes the roads to ALL VEHICLES. Since we were on (non-motorized) vehicles, we must obey the signs and rules like cars. Go figure.
That was a few months ago. Ever since then I did what the other posts say. Avoid Trinity, it's a pig hive. I just go a different way and haven't had any troubles since.
~~
The best substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.
I'm confused. I've ridden through the barricades and crowds on 6th multiple times (this week even) and never been stopped by any of the cops I passed. I was unaware that this was even an issue because I've never been hassled.
I've never seen the law cited that makes it illegal, but I HAVE been grabbed off my bike before for riding down 6th St. the correct direction (westbound) between the barricades after they shut down the street. I wasn't ticketed, but I've heard that quite a few people have been.
Y'all who have pulled tickets for doing this, what were yout icketed for exactly?
In September, 3 friends and I were riding our bikes at an extremely slow pace so that we could find parking on 6th street. Even though we were going really slow, they still ticketed all four of us... This was a thursday night and 6th street was dead so definitely do not ride through barricades
What did they ticket you for? Riding on the sidewalk? (were you?) Or something else?
How much were the tickets?
They ticketed us for riding through the barricades. We were on the street, not the sidewalk.
The tickets were around $160. Weird part was that I got off with community service since I had no income, yet my girlfriend has to pay the fine even though she has no income.
Watch the Trinity area too between 5th and 6th. This is the cop station, and they have been known to ticket even if you are going from alley to alley and crossing trinity. They eb and flow on these rules, but are always down to bust pedicabs especially. Just do the ol' swing-the-leg-around-then-skateboard-kick-push thing and all is well.
The alleys are one-way, from what I can tell, but other than that, it is perfectly legal to cross from alley to alley.
The only other exception that I can think of is that one must obey an order from a police officer, i.e., if the officer says you must get off your bike, then you must get off your bike or risk arrest, however unreasonable their request to dismount is.
(I've been told by APD to dismount on sidewalks that are not included in the sidewalk prohibition and no pedestrians were present.)