An Act To Promote Bicycle Safety by Placing Warning Signs on Certain Public Ways
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1328
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: COREY, HERRICK, MAREAN, CYRWAY, DIAMOND
Amends: 23 MRSA §1353, 23 MRSA §1354, 36 MRSA §5292

Legislative Document
No. 1328
H.P. 922
House of Representatives, April 4, 2017
An Act To Promote Bicycle Safety by Placing Warning Signs on 
Certain Public Ways
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative COREY of Windham.
Cosponsored by Representatives: HERRICK of Paris, MAREAN of Hollis, Senators: 
CYRWAY of Kennebec, DIAMOND of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §1353 is enacted to read: 
§1353.  Bicycle warning signs 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Bicycle warning sign" means a yellow retroreflective diamond-shaped sign that 
contains an image of a bicycle. 
B.  "Lane of substandard width" means a lane of a public way that the department 
determines is too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to safely travel side by 
side. 
C.  "Placard" means a yellow retroreflective rectangular sign that contains 
information for users of a public way and is used in conjunction with and placed 
underneath a bicycle warning sign. 
D.  "Public way" means a state highway or a state aid highway. 
2.  Bicycle warning signs.  The department shall place a bicycle warning sign on a 
public way in the following manner. 
A.  At the beginning of a public way in which all or a portion of the public way has a 
speed limit over 35 miles per hour and a lane of substandard width, the department 
shall place on the same side of the public way as the lane of substandard width a 
bicycle warning sign with a placard that states "FULL LANE USE." 
B.  At the intersection between a public way under paragraph A and a major public 
way or a collector and feeder route of the public way under paragraph A, the 
department shall place on the same side of the public way as the lane of substandard 
width a bicycle warning sign with a placard that states "FULL LANE USE." 
3.  Municipalities.  A municipality shall place bicycle warning signs in accordance 
with subsection 2 on town ways within the municipality. 
4.  Rules.  The department may adopt routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to carry out the provisions of this section. 
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §1354 is enacted to read: 
§1354.  Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund 
The Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is 
established in the department to pay for the expenses in carrying out the provisions of 
section 1353. The fund consists of revenues received from contributions made pursuant to 
Title 36, section 5292, appropriations, allocations and contributions from private and 
public sources. The fund, to be accounted within the department, must be held separate 
and apart from all other money, funds and accounts. Eligible investment earnings credited 
to the assets of the fund become part of the assets of the fund. Any unexpended balances 
remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year do not lapse and must be carried 
forward to the next fiscal year. 
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §5292 is enacted to read: 
§5292.  Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund; voluntary checkoff 
1.  Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund.  When filing a return, a taxpayer entitled to a 
refund under this Part may designate that a portion of that refund be paid into the Bicycle 
Roadway Safety Fund established in Title 23, section 1354. A taxpayer who is not 
entitled to a refund under this Part may contribute to the Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund 
by including with that taxpayer's return sufficient funds to make the contribution. The 
contribution may not be less than $5. Each individual income tax return form must 
contain a designation in substantially the following form: "Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund: 
( ) $5 or ( ) Other $....."  
2.  Contributions credited to Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund.  The State Tax 
Assessor shall determine annually the total amount contributed pursuant to subsection 1. 
Prior to the beginning of the next year, the State Tax Assessor shall deduct the cost of 
administering the Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund checkoff and report the remainder to the 
Treasurer of State, who shall forward that amount to the Bicycle Roadway Safety Fund. 
Sec. 4.  Department of Transportation to determine priority in sign 
placing.  The Department of Transportation shall determine the priority of the public 
ways that receive signs pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, section 1353 
based upon the existing resources of the department and using available information such 
as bicycle use and accident data and other information concerning bicycle use on the 
public ways. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the Department of Transportation and municipalities to place 
bicycle warning signs on public ways that have speed limits over 35 miles per hour and 
have lanes in which a motor vehicle and a bicycle cannot safely travel side by side. The 
bill also requires state income tax returns to include a voluntary checkoff of $5 or more to 
help pay for the signs.