Rachel Owens Allen Smith, a Newark resident, told the council she found updated state materials on laws and tips for people who ride bicycles and for drivers. “I totally recommend checking out the, state's highway department site,” she said, and offered to provide copies to the city and its library.
The request matters because, she said, newer guidance now covers electric vehicles and people with disabilities and is compact enough to distribute widely. "One of the beautiful things about it is instead it's so small that it fits it into a wallet," she said.
In public comment, Owens Allen Smith also said she has seen "motor electric bit, vehicles are actually riding on the sidewalk with their kids and spreading across 2 lanes of traffic. They have no idea of what the law is." She asked the city to take an interest, work with the library and local schools and expand public education.
Council members did not take formal action during the meeting; the remarks were made during the public comment portion of the agenda. The speaker said she would follow up with materials for staff and the library.
City residents and staff who want the materials or to discuss a coordinated outreach effort can contact the city clerk's office (no specific staff assignment was made at the meeting).