Elyria considers return of bike, motorcycle penalties

ELYRIA — City Council will consider bringing back catch-all bike and motorcycle penalties that city officials say were erroneously repealed more than a decade ago. At joint meeting of Council's Utilities, Safety and Environment and Finance committees Monday, Law Director Amanda Deery presented a proposal to add the penalties back into Elyria's Codified Ordinances. The committees voted to send the proposal before Council as a whole and recommend its approval. Deery said that her officer had found that the penalties had been erroneously removed from the city's code about 15 years ago when the city was making other changes to its bicycle registration rules. She said that after the error was discovered, both the Elyria Bicycle Advisory Committee and Elyria Police Department asked that the penalties be added back into the codified ordinances as provision 373.99. "There previously was a provision 373.99 in our codified ordinances, and at some point in excess of 10 years ago it was repealed as part of revisions to chapter 373," Deery said. "As far as my office is able to tell, it was an inadvertent repeal. (Provision) .99 in all of our ordinances is a penalty provision." Deery said that penalties are still applicable for certain bicycle and motorcycle violations, but only those that are explicitly spelled out. She said that most of those violations were related to specific traffic infractions. The provision to be added back into the codified ordinances is the general provision, what Deery called a "catch-all" penalty provision. She said that the section that the city proposed to add back in would be an exact reflection of the penalty spelled out in the Ohio Revised Code. Under ORC, unless otherwise specified, a violation of bicycle or motorcycle laws is a minor misdemeanor on a first offense within one year, and is punishable by a fine of up to $150. A second offense within one year is a fourth degree misdemeanor, carrying a maximum punishment of a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail. A third or greater violation is punishable by a fine of $500 and up to 60 days in jail. Elyria Police Chief James Welsh told The Chronicle that he supported the penalty provision being brought back so that the department had more ability to punish those who violate the city's bicycle and motorcycle ordinances. He said that the issue was of growing importance, as the spread of faster e-bikes continues. "The reinstatement of penalties for bicycle violations gives our officers another tool to address reckless and unsafe riding that has become a growing concern in our community," Welsh said. "This isn't about writing more citations, it is about promoting safety and holding people accountable when their actions put themselves or others at risk. Our goal is to educate riders, encourage responsible behavior and prevent someone from being seriously injured." The addition of the penalty provision still needs to be approved by Council as a whole before it can be implemented. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.