Residents and planners press Wilkes-Barre for e-bike rules, bike infrastructure and food-truck oversight

Multiple speakers raised micro-mobility and related quality-of-life issues at the Sept. 25 Wilkes-Barre council meeting, urging clearer enforcement and implementation of bicycle and e-bike rules as well as oversight of food trucks and sidewalk vendors.

Tom Gagatak and Brian Ferry both raised safety concerns about e-bikes, including riders using sidewalks and riding in dark clothing without lights. “On the way up here, someone's coming down the middle of South Main Street on the ebike, middle of the road. Okay. It's raining. Dark clothes, no lights,” Gagatak said. Brian Ferry, who identified himself earlier as an urban planner, said micro-mobility is an efficient mode of transport but that a “massive education gap” exists, referencing a 2020 bike-ped study completed by Luzerne and Lackawanna County consultants.

Ferry urged the council to implement low-cost measures identified in the study — signage, painted bike symbols and education — and noted that the city has received ARPA funding that has not yet produced cycling infrastructure. Council members said e-bikes must follow state regulations and existing traffic rules, and that enforcement would be handled by the police department when riders break traffic laws. The mayor said the city is “still working on it” and that state regulations already exist, but that the municipality was exploring local accommodations.

Gagatak also reported an uptick in food trucks and produce stands in public areas; the mayor responded that operators were filing applications and receiving inspections as required under the city's ordinance.

Speakers asked the council to move from planning to implementation by using existing studies and applying low-cost infrastructure and public education. Council members indicated enforcement is available for riders who break traffic laws and said the city would consider local adaptations to state rules.