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Shelby County commissioners vote today on some changes to the local rules for bicycling and the number of false alarms home and business owners get before they have to pay a fine. The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Shelby County Administration Building, 160 N. Main St. An agenda is on Page 10.
On today’s agenda is the first of three readings on a county ordinance that would tinker with the county rules for bicycle riding.
Commissioner Mike Carpenter is proposing the ordinance changes to match state law and update the rules with “generally accepted safe practices.”
The changes:
Allow multiple riders to ride two abreast in a single lane on streets
Permit the use of bicycle trailers and semitrailers
Eliminate the requirement for a bell, siren or whistle
Amend requirements for a fixed-gear bicycle to include a brake
Include generator-powered lights in lighting requirements for riding at night.
The ordinance is the result of a review of the county ordinance by the group Walk-Bike Memphis (WBM), which worked with other cycling groups.
If approved on three readings, the ordinance will apply to the unincorporated county outside Memphis.
A similar ordinance will be considered by the Memphis City Council to apply within the city limits.
Carpenter is also sponsoring an ordinance up for first reading that would change the system of fines for false alarms.
Under the new rules, home- and business owners would be fined after the fourth false alarm instead of after the sixth false alarm. The fine for the fifth offense would be $25 for each separate violation, with multiple false alarms in one day still being counted as a single offense.
A mandatory alarm users class is still required, but after the fourth offense instead of the seventh.
Eight or more false alarms could lead to possible revocation of the alarm permit, which is the current requirement. Added to that is the warning that “future alarms may be considered false in nature and will require additional confirmation prior to response,” according to the ordinance.
The preamble to the new rules says the existing ordinance is “excessively lenient in false alarm allowances and fines compared to that of cities of comparable size and demographics.”
First reading of ordinances are usually on the commission’s consent agenda with little to no debate until third and final reading.
