[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Catasauqua 7-1-1974 by Ord. No. 706 (Ch. III of the 1962 Code).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A device having two tandem wheels of a diameter not less
than 16 inches and propelled by human power or a tricycle having three
wheels of a diameter not less than 16 inches and propelled by human
power.
No person who resides within this municipality
shall ride a bicycle or operate it upon any street or public place
within this Borough unless said bicycle has been properly registered
and tagged in accordance with the following regulations:
A.
Every owner or operator of any bicycle within the
Borough of Catasauqua shall make application for the registration
of said bicycle to the Chief of Police or his designate, on a form
provided for that purpose.
B.
Registrations of bicycles shall be serially numbered
and kept on file by the Chief of Police on a form in his office as
a public record.
C.
The Chief of Police shall then issue an identification
tag or plate serially numbered to correspond to the bicycle registration.
This identification tag or plate must then be affixed to the rear
mudguard or frame of the bicycle in such a position as to be plainly
visible from the rear. A registration card shall be issued to the
owner of each properly registered bicycle.
D.
Bicycles registered under the provisions hereof shall
be registered during the month of September 1974, and during the month
of September thereafter.
E.
Registrations shall expire biannually on the first
day of October and no extension of this time shall be provided except
for reason upon order by the Borough Council or the Mayor. A charge
as set from time to time by resolution of Borough Council[1] shall be made for registration and tagging of each bicycle.
Reregistration can be made within 30 days prior to the expiration
date and on the dates announced thereafter by the Chief of Police.
A charge as set from time to time by resolution of Borough Council
shall be made for reregistration at other than the dates announced
thereafter by the Chief of Police.[2]
F.
Any individual acquiring a new bicycle prior to the
next registration date and not formerly registered in the Borough
of Catasauqua, shall, within 30 days from said acquisitions register
the same with the Police Department for a fee as set from time to
time by resolution of Borough Council. This registration shall expire
two years from the following September, and thereafter registration
shall be conducted regularly in the month of September.[3]
G.
The Chief of Police shall keep a record of:
(1)
The number of each registration.
(2)
The date of registration and the date of each inspection.
(3)
The name, age, address, and phone number of the person
to whom it is issued.
(4)
The make, color, serial numbers and general description
of each bicycle frame.
(5)
A record of bicycle fees collected.
(6)
The name, address and phone number of the father,
mother, or guardian of children under 18 years of age.
H.
Within 15 days after any bicycle registered hereunder
shall have changed ownership or been dismantled or disposed of, such
information shall be reported to the Police Department by the person
in whose name the registration was made.
I.
It shall be unlawful for any person willfully or maliciously
to remove, destroys mutilate or alter the identification tag or plate,
frame number of a bicycle or the registration card issued to the owner
thereof.
Before issuing a bicycle registration the applicant
shall be required to demonstrate personally in such a manner as the
Chief of Police shall direct that he or she is capable of riding a
bicycle; further, such applicant shall satisfactorily pass an examination
to determine his knowledge of safe riding rules and practices as the
Chief of Police shall prescribe.
[Amended 10-6-1980 by Ord. No. 811]
A bicycle shall be operated only on the roadway
as near as possible to within five feet of the right-hand curb or
edge of said roadway except when passing a parked or standing vehicle
or making a left-hand turn at an intersection. Bicycles whose wheel
diameter is 16 inches and over shall not be operated on the sidewalks
unless equipped with training wheels or operator is learning under
responsible supervision. The operator of a bicycle shall obey all
official traffic signals and other control devices applicable to vehicles,
unless otherwise directed by a police officer.
A.
The operator of a bicycle emerging from a driveway
or building shall yield the right of way to all pedestrians on the
sidewalk and to all vehicles on the roadway.
B.
The operator of a bicycle shall not carry any other
person upon the handlebar, frame or any part of the bicycle. This
provision shall not be construed to prohibit the use of bicycles built
to be operated by two or more persons.
C.
The operator of a bicycle shall not indulge in any
abnormal or trick riding, and shall keep at least one hand on the
handlebar at all times while in use.
D.
Operators of bicycles shall not ride in any manner
other than single file except on paths or parts of roadway set aside
for the exclusive use of bicycles.
E.
Operators of bicycles shall not hitch onto any moving
vehicle upon a roadway.
F.
The operator of a bicycle shall park same upon the
sidewalk using a kickstand; or in a rack to support a bicycle; or
against a building, except windows or glass doors thereof, in such
a manner as to afford the least obstruction to pedestrians.
G.
Each owner shall be required to permit only skilled
operators to ride their bicycles upon the streets of the Borough of
Catasauqua.
H.
The operator shall drive in the proper direction on
one-way streets.
I.
The operator shall use the proper hand signals for
turning right or left.
J.
Operators of bicycles shall not ride on the Catasauqua
playgrounds, except on roads and the parking lot, to and from a bicycle
rack.
The Chief of Police, or his designate, shall
inspect each bicycle presented for registration, and shall report
to the Chief of Police any bicycle found to be in an unsafe mechanical
condition or lacking the equipment specified as necessary under the
terms of this chapter. The Police Department shall refuse to register
such bicycle until and unless it is brought into conformance with
the requirements of this chapter.
Every bicycle operated upon a street or public
place at any time, during the period one hour after sunset to one
hour before sunrise, and at any other time when there is not sufficient
light under normal atmospheric conditions to render clearly discernible
persons and vehicles on the street or public places at a distance
of 250 feet ahead, shall be equipped with a lighted lamp, on the front
thereof, and shall also be equipped with a red reflector or lamp on
the rear, exhibiting or reflecting a red light visible, under like
conditions from a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such
bicycle. Said reflector or lamp on the rear shall be at least 1 1/2
inches in diameter; every bicycle shall also be equipped with brakes
in good operating condition; and all mechanical parts of the bicycle
shall be in working condition.
[Amended 5-7-1984 by Ord. No. 868; 4-1-2013 by Ord. No.
1288]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof before any District
Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $15 nor more
than $300 for each violation plus costs of prosecution and, in default
of payment of such fines and costs, to imprisonment in the Lehigh
County prison for a period of not more than 30 days. Any person found
guilty of violating an ordinance shall be assessed court costs and
reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement
proceedings.
