Public Safety Committee moves Bill 14 to full council to align Allentown bicycle rules with Pennsylvania Vehicle Code

The Allentown City Public Safety Committee voted to forward Bill 14 to the full City Council after a presentation on proposed changes that would align the city's bicycle ordinances with the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code.

Bill 14, read into the record by a committee clerk, would replace the local definition of "bicycle" with the state's definition of a "pedalcycle," explicitly include electric-assist bicycles (e-bikes) under the state definition, defer to state equipment standards for brakes and lights, remove or update obsolete local penalties, and update Hamilton Street regulations that reference "bicycles." The presenter said the changes also recommend police encourage registration of recovered or stolen bicycles in a national database such as BikeIndex.org.

Committee members and public safety staff described the changes as a…