worstday.jpg

Cyclists assemble in Southeast Portland to prepare for the 2012 version of the Worst Day of the Year Ride. It attracts around 4,000 people each year. That number of bikes would produce about $40,000 under a proposal going before the Oregon Legislature.

(Photo by John Killen/The Oregonian/2012)

SALEM -- Is it time for the cycling community to deal with the perennial "fair share" question?

The issue has arisen again at the Oregon Legislature, where

a Republican who represents rural Yamhill County, has introduced a bill that would slap a $10 registration fee on all bikes.

George tells me he introduced the bill --

-- at the request of a constituent -- a Yamhill farmer who says she has trouble moving her equipment because of all the cycling tourists on the narrow- or no-shoulder roads in the heart of wine country.

Sounds a mite apocryphal, but it gets at a point that has dogged bicycling groups for years. Cyclists use the roads -- a lot more now than they used to -- but there's no direct fee that ties the two together.

George says he introduced his registration fee bill at the last moment, not expecting it to get much traction. "I'm more expecting it to create a conversation -- is everybody paying their fair share."

It's an interesting, but complicated question, says Rob Sadowsky, director of the

. Roads are paved from a variety of sources: gas taxes, local and federal revenue, some user fees. About 90 percent of BTA members drive a car, he notes. And the wear and tear bikes cause on roads is negligible.

But he gets the issue. And he's willing to have that conversation George wants.

"We're pragmatic," he says. "Our general position and my own perspective is always lead with 'maybe.'"

<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/6939139/">Would you be willing to pay a $10 registration fee on your bicycle? Or would you even go as high as $25, as is being considered in Washington?</a>

The issue isn't going away. In Washington, there's a proposal for a $25 tax on bicycles that cost more than $500. During the debate in the Oregon House over the

, one Republican suggested a toll on bikes to help pay for the bike path that's part of the massive bridge and highway project.

, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, says the problem with most of the bike-fee ideas is that they would raise so little money they're just not worth it.

"Philosophically, it makes a lot of sense," Beyer says. "As a practical matter, there's nothing there."

Which raises yet another question for cyclists, who generally get their dander up over the notion of paying a separate fee. It's a relatively cheap and painless way to take the argument off the table, so why not?

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