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Council discusses rescinding bike-on-square ban; public safety committee to study e-bikes and ordinance changes
Summary
Councilors debated an old ordinance that requires pedestrians to walk bicycles within one block of the square and discussed updating the code to allow bicycle riding on the square. The police chief and council asked staff to draft ordinance language and refer the matter to the public safety committee to address motorized e-bikes and pedestrian
A council member proposed rescinding an older ordinance that requires people to walk bicycles within one block of the downtown square and discussed changing signage to clarify rules for sidewalks.
The council heard that the existing ordinance dates back decades and that other cities typically restrict bicycles on sidewalks only in business districts. The council also discussed concerns about motorized bicycles and scooters on sidewalks and their impact on pedestrians.
The police chief said the current rule requires people to walk bicycles within one block of the square and that complaints have included motorized bicycles and scooters on sidewalks. He advised that changing the rule would require rewriting the ordinance and returning it to the council for two readings.
Council members asked staff to draft proposed ordinance language, consider e-bike classification and safety mitigations (for example allowing riding on the street but not on sidewalks), and refer the item to the public safety committee for further review. No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting.
