State transportation officials said Tuesday that a proposed St. Charles County ban on bicyclists on some state highways without shoulders would have no legal authority and couldn't be enforced. Melissa Anderson, who oversees bicycle issues for the Missouri Department of Transportation, cited a state law giving MoDOT's governing board supervision of roads built or maintained with state money.

The county bill's sponsor — County Councilman Joe Brazil, R-Defiance — said he continues to believe that the county can enforce such a law, using authority on health and safety. Brazil said the ban would protect public safety on hilly, curving roads in the semi-rural southwest part of the county. Bicycling activists oppose the measure.