These regulations applicable to bicycles shall apply whenever a bicycle
is operated upon any street or upon any public path set aside for the exclusive
use of bicycles, subject to those exceptions stated herein. The sole purpose
of this article is to assist and aid in the recovery of lost or stolen bicycles,
and the registration of bicycles does not in any way imply that the Village
is certifying to the safety of the bicycles or the qualifications of the operator.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
BICYCLE
Includes any vehicle consisting of an arrangement or combination
of two wheels, one following the other, supported by a frame and propelled
by the feet acting upon pedals.
It shall be unlawful for any resident of the Village to operate, use
or permit to be used or operated or rent for use any bicycle upon any of the
public highways, streets, avenues, parks or public places in the Village without
first registering the bicycle with the Police Department and obtaining a certificate
of registration and identification plate therefor.
[Amended 10-18-1982 by L.L. No. 14-1982]
A. Prerequisites. The Chief of Police is hereby authorized
and directed to issue bicycle registration cards and metallic identification
plates to the owner of any bicycle upon:
(1) An application containing the name of the owner or, if
the owner is under 16 years, the name of the parent or guardian and the make
and serial number and color of the bicycle, together with the name and address
of the person from whom the same was purchased.
(2) The payment of the fee herein provided.
B. Registration cards; contents. The registration cards
shall be numbered consecutively and shall contain the name and address of
the owner or, if the owner is under 16 years of age, the name of the parent
or guardian.
C. Identification plate; contents. The metallic identification
plate shall have the corresponding number to the registration certificate
with the word "Freeport" thereon, which shall be attached to the bicycle by
the Police Department and shall not be removed during the valid term of registration,
except by the Police Department.
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously remove,
destroy, mutilate or alter the serial number of any bicycle frame licensed
pursuant to this article. Within seven days after any bicycle registered hereunder
shall change ownership or be dismantled and taken out of operation, the person
in whose name the bicycle has been registered shall report such information
to the Police Department of the Village. It shall also be unlawful for any
person to remove, destroy, mutilate or alter any identification plate or registration
card during the time in which such identification plate or registration card
shall operate.
Every person engaged in the business of buying, selling, exchanging
or trading in used or secondhand bicycles and every person engaged in the
business of buying or selling new bicycles shall make a weekly report to the
Police Department of all used and secondhand bicycles purchased, exchanged
or traded in during the week. Each such report shall specify a full and complete
description of such used or secondhand bicycles and, in addition thereto,
whenever available, the manufacturer's or maker's factory serial
number, frame number, color, type, wheel size, name of brake and mark of identification,
the date of purchase or trade and the name of the person selling or trading
in such bicycles.
No person engaging in the business of renting bicycles in the Village
shall rent or hire a bicycle to anyone without the hired bicycle having an
identification plate issued by the Chief of Police attached thereto.
Every person who sells or transfers ownership of any bicycle shall report
such sale or transfer by returning the registration card issued to such person,
together with the name and address of the person to whom said bicycle was
sold or transferred, to the Chief of Police, and such report shall be made
within seven days of the date of such sale or transfer. The purchaser or transferee
of such bicycle shall apply for a transfer of the registration thereof within
seven days of the sale or transfer.
Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all the
rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of
a vehicle by the laws of this state declaring rules of the road applicable
to vehicles or by the traffic ordinances of this Village applicable to the
driver of a vehicle, except as to special regulations in this article and except as
to those provisions of laws and ordinances which by their nature can have
no application.
No person shall operate a bicycle at a speed greater than is reasonable
and prudent under the conditions then existing.
The operator of a bicycle emerging from an alley, driveway or building
shall, upon approaching a sidewalk or the sidewalk area extending across any
alleyway, yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians approaching on said sidewalk
or sidewalk area and, upon entering the roadway, shall yield the right-of-way
to all vehicles approaching on said roadway.
No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package or bundle or article
which prevents the rider from keeping at least one hand on the handlebars.
No person shall park a bicycle upon a street, other than upon the roadway
against the curb or upon the sidewalk in a rack to support the bicycle, or
against a building or at the curb in such a manner as to afford the least
obstruction to pedestrian traffic.