"The regulations in question here which exclude bicycles from the interstate bridges and which establish minimum speeds for vehicles on those bridges are designed to move traffic across the interstate bridges in as uniform and safe a manner as possible. The evidence established that introduction of slow moving vehicles into a traffic pattern of fast moving vehicles is a significant safety hazard. Drivers of the faster moving vehicles must stop, slow down suddenly or swerve in order to avoid causing accidents. The evidence also establishes that the present fifty-five mile per hour maximum and forty mile per hour minimum speed limitations on the interstate bridges cannot be lowered significantly without creating major traffic problems in the two cities, particularly during rush hours. Bicycle riding on the interstate bridges can only be safe for all concerned if a separate structure for bicycles were built or Jersey barriers were added to separate the bicycle lane from the automobile lanes. The plaintiffs have specifically not asked that protected bicycle lanes be constructed across the bridges. They argue only that bicycle riders should be allowed to drive on the bridges as they presently exist, using existing shoulders as their bicycle lane with one exception: the width of the shoulder lanes on the I-480 bridge should be increased by several feet by decreasing the width of each automobile lane by one foot. However, this court finds that bicycle riders on the interstate bridges, whether in the actual traffic lanes or on the shoulder lane, promote a dangerous and unsafe condition.
"It is the conclusion of this court that the regulation of traffic on the interstate bridges to the exclusion of bicycles is a proper exercise of the police power and is not arbitrary and capricious. ..."
[Footnote: "In addition, an alternative route exists for bicycle traffic between the two cities. Bicycles are not prohibited from the Highway 275-92 bridge. Although the narrow width of that bridge requires that a bicycle be ridden in the traffic lane, the lower speed limit and the lower traffic volume on that bridge make it more suitable for bicycle traffic.]
[This case can also be seen here with further analysis and commentary from John Forester.]
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