On July 19 the Normal Town Council unanimously passed an ordinance that will limit bicyclists in uptown. Bicyclists will only be able to ride on the streets or walk their bicycle down the sidewalks. Violators of this ordinance will have to pay a $50 fine.

This new legislation was meant to increase safety for pedestrians and patrons of uptown Normal by limiting bicyclists on sidewalks.

“Business owners have expressed a lot of concern for safety because bicyclists ride down the sidewalks at a good rate of speed,” Wayne Aldrich, Uptown Normal development coordinator, said.

“Pedestrians are often unaware that a bicycle is about to pass them, while bicyclists could easily ride into an open door; safety is a major concern for both parties,” he said.

“I think the new legislation makes sense because I can see safety being a concern for people entering and exiting local businesses. Besides, bicycles belong on the street,” Charles Hornbach, senior international business major, said.

“In order to raise awareness, signs will be posted in uptown and the clerk’s office is responsible for publishing information about the new ordinance which will be in effect as of July 30,” Kirk Ijams, assistant chief of operations for the Normal Police Department, said.

“Initially, the police department will probably issue a lot of warnings to those who are violating this ordinance unless they deem the violator as reckless, but bicyclists should be considerate regardless of where they are riding,” Aldrich explained.

“Although we do have outdoor seating, it [bicycle safety] has never been an issue for our customers. If people had started getting hurt, we would have been more active in making our sidewalks safer for our customers,” Eric Salazar, bar manager at Medici, said.

While a relatively low number of bicycle collisions have occurred recently, a high frequency of near misses had been brought to the attention of the administrative staff and Normal’s Town Council.

“The [administrative] staff made a recommendation to the Town Council and the council agreed and adopted the ordinance, so the staff does support the council’s decision in passing the ordinance,” Pamela Reece, deputy city manager for the Town of Normal, explained.

“Initially, I didn’t understand why they [the council] would pass a law like that, but I can see both sides of the argument. It is a good attempt to keep everyone safe, and considering uptown’s size it really won’t slow down bicyclists if they can’t ride through it,” Corey O’Connor, senior exercise science major, explained.

Bicycles are also prohibited within the traffic circle because the fountains and sidewalks were designed for pedestrians. A similar ordinance was passed banning skateboarders from the area because they caused damage to the streetscape.

“I hope the ordinance doesn’t have a negative impact on bike traffic in Normal. We [Normal’s administrative staff] have always promoted bikes in uptown, and we hope to have more pedestrians and bicyclists in the future,” Aldrich said.