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Committee postpones downtown pedestrian‑mall bill for technical clarifications
Summary
Council committee postponed Bill 48 (2025), which would extend Fort Street Mall rules onto portions of Chaplain Lane and other downtown pedestrian corridors, after church testimony about loading exemptions and transportation staff raised a technical ambiguity about whether state law classifies bicycles as vehicles.
Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos‑Tam introduced Bill 48 (2025), a proposal to expand Fort Street Mall rules to part of Chaplain Lane and other nearby downtown corridors to encourage pedestrian use and safer bicycling.
A representative from the Roman Catholic Church, identified at the hearing as Kaye, testified that the church supports downtown revitalization but asked that the committee consider expanded loading or unloading rights when the church conducts functions, and suggested clarifying exemptions to avoid repeated land‑use ordinance amendments.
Roger Morton, director of the Department of Transportation Services, said the administration supports the general principle but flagged a technical drafting issue: statewide code includes bicycles in the definition of “vehicle,” while the draft ordinance limits vehicles to 5 mph and separately sets a 10 mph threshold for bicycles. Morton said that a narrow technical fix or administrative rulemaking would resolve the inconsistency.
Given the need to reconcile those definitions and to allow staff and members time to review the church’s written proposals, Chair Kia'aina recommended postponing Bill 48 to a date and time to be determined. The committee approved the postponement with no objections.
The chair said the postponement will allow the committee and administration to craft a clearer ordinance that preserves pedestrian safety while addressing functional needs such as church loading operations.
