Potholes and Road Apples

Lancaster City Council members voted Tuesday night to ban riding of bicycles on downtown sidewalks as a pedestrian safety measure.

The ban includes the area bounded by Lemon, Water, Lime and Farnum streets. It will take effect in mid-December.

The city ordinance extends an existing ban on sidewalk riding that covers the four-block area around Penn Square.

Council members narrowly approved the measure, by a 4-2 vote. Council member Kendra Saunders questioned the need for the law. She cited state law that already prohibits riding bicycles on sidewalks in a business district and an existing citywide law that prohibits riding bikes on sidewalks in a way that endangers pedestrians. Council member Jose Urdaneta called for an amendment that would allow children to ride on sidewalks. None was added.

Mayor Rick Gray said the law was necessary to define the downtown business district for the sake of the state law. And, he said, the existing city law is difficult to enforce because a prosecutor has to prove a pedestrian was in danger.

At the last minute, council members stripped the measure of a ban on skateboarding on sidewalks, after concluding that skateboards are slower and make more noise and so are less a danger to pedestrians.

The measure that was passed includes a do-as-I-say-do,-not-as-I-do provision that exempts city police officers and the red-shirted James Street Improvement District bike patrol from the ban. That allowance will likely lead to confusion as motorists see officers on the sidewalk and expect other bicyclists to ride there also. It will also confuse bicyclists when they are told they must walk their bikes.

The law will carry a $50 fine and the threat of confiscation of the bike.