DUBOIS – Citizens raised concerns over bicycle and skateboard safety at Monday night’s DuBois City Council meeting.
Citizens stated people have been riding bicycles and skateboards on city sidewalks.
Citizens told council members that people have been hit and others nearly hit, and skateboarders are performing tricks on the new handicap ramps.
“Where do you want them to go?” asked Councilwoman Diane Bernardo.
The citizens’ main suggestion was to have any person over 12 years old riding their bicycle on the roadways.
Another suggestion was to implement bicycle lanes. However, it was shot down due to the streets already being narrow in the city.
“As far as the city being able to put bicycle lanes in, I’m not an engineer or the city police, but our roads are narrow. We have streets we can’t park on because they are so narrow,” said City Solicitor Toni Cherry.
Council members also didn’t believe it would go over well to use public grant money to improve roadways only to remove parking spaces to put in bicycle lanes.
Citizens then suggested fines of $25-$35.
“How would we enforce this?” asked Bernardo.
Cherry agreed that bicyclists are riding on the sidewalks and said she can hear it when she’s inside her law office.
“If someone is injured because a minor runs into him/her, there is private remedy,” pointed out Cherry.