Below is the content of an email sent by Sam White of Liberty Bicycles along with a little background information. I will be out of town next week but I would like to have BRBC have a presence at this meeting. - John
[Background on Lennie's Law for context: "Lennie's Law" is a proposed North Carolina legislative initiative—officially named the Leonard Antonelli and Jacob Hill Bicycle Safety Zone Act—advocating for designated bicycle safety zones with strict speeding penalties to protect riders. It honors two cyclists killed by a truck on NC-251 in July 2025. Local governing bodies, including Asheville, Woodfin, and Weaverville, have passed formal resolutions endorsing the proposed safety act to urge action from the North Carolina General Assembly.]
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Sam from Liberty Bicycles here. Liberty will host a meeting next Wednesday, 08-12-26, beginning at 5:30 pm. Below are some details that we will discuss. If any of you feel others would benefit from attending, please invite them. We hope for great attendance and a fruitful meeting.
Below are details from Adam Smith.
As you may know, Maddie Barondeau (Lennie Antonelli's fiance) and I continue to make progress with Lennie's Law, as we have now secured official resolutions of endorsement from Asheville, Woodfin, and last week, Weaverville. Buncombe County is set to vote on the measure this week and the French Broad MPO will do so later in August.
I'm reaching out because, with the endorsement of Lennie's Law in Asheville, we now have the opportunity to create a first-of-its-kind Bicycle Safety Zone somewhere on Asheville city streets, and Mayor Manheimer has already expressed her interest in doing so. While we wouldn't be able to add additional fines for speeding in one of these zones - like the full concept proposes - we could still put up signs along problematic or crucial areas of roadway that say "Bicycle Safety Zone - Be Aware, Drive with Care" or "Bicycle Safety Zone - Caution High Bicycle Activity" for example.
As leaders within the Asheville cycling community, I would love for your organizations to become part of this important story and work with us to determine the best location(s) to designate a BSZ and help us spread the word and build support for Lennie's Law among the local cycling community. Maddie and I are trying to build a coalition of support for this proposal so we can take it to the NC General Assembly and try to get it passed into law at the state level, and we need your help and want you to be part of it!
Please let me know if you'd like to join us on this journey, and if so, I'd love to schedule a meeting in the next couple of weeks to discuss next steps for creating a BSZ in Asheville and building community support for Lennie's Law.
Hope everyone can make it on the 12th.
Thanks,
Sam White
Owner/General Manager
Liberty Bicycles, Inc.
828-274-2453
samwhite@libertybikes.com
www.libertybikes.com