As a bicyclist who rides in Oklahoma City, I am opposed to proposed changes to Oklahoma City Ordinance §32-479.

One change will require bicyclists to stay 3 feet away from other vehicles. The reason given suggests this is needed at intersections however the language of the proposed ordinance does not reflect this, and as written it could be interpreted to require bicyclists to move out of the way of traffic.

This is in conflict with state and city traffic laws §47-11-1208 and §32-491 which place the responsibility for safe passing on the driver of the overtaking vehicle.

An additional proposed change prohibits lane splitting (filtering), which is already banned in state traffic laws §47-11-1103 and §47-11-1205. Passing the revised ordinance is unnecessarily redundant as state laws are enforceable in Oklahoma City under §47-15-101.

To this end, I request three things:

• Please do not enact these conflicting and confusing changes as currently submitted to the City Council.

• Please review existing statutes and ordinances prior to creating enforcement problems for our city police.

• Please reach out to the bicycling community for input on how to correct a perceived problem where none may exist.

Thank you for the efforts to make Oklahoma City a Bicycle Friendly Community.