[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Rahway 7-9-1984 by Ord. No. A-12-84 as Ch. 76 of the 1984 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Headphones — See Ch. 253.
Roller skates, skateboards and scooters — See Ch. 331.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 401.
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, 20 inches or more in diameter, one following the other, supported by a frame propelled wholly or in part by the feet acting upon pedals.
DIRECTOR
The Director of Police of the City.
PERSON
Includes one or more persons of either sex, natural persons, corporations, partnerships, associations and joint-stock companies, residing in or having a place of business in the City.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the safety of bicycle riders on the streets of the City and to provide a means of identifying the owners of said bicycles and the violators of the chapter and statutes regulating the operation of bicycles in the City.
A. 
No person shall ride or propel a bicycle upon any street or other public property in the City without having:
(1) 
Secured a license for such bicycle in the manner herein provided; and
(2) 
Attached to such bicycle a proper license tag as hereinafter provided.
B. 
Any bicycle that has been licensed by any other municipality of the state and carries a license tag shall be considered a licensed bicycle within the meaning and purpose of this chapter.
Each applicant for said license shall apply at police headquarters of the City. A form of application prescribed by the Director shall be filled out at said headquarters, and the completed application, with the required fee, shall be filed at police headquarters.
The Director shall provide each applicant with a manual of instruction, which shall include those vehicle and traffic laws of the State of New Jersey and the City which are applicable to bicycles and upon which the applicant is to be examined. This manual shall also describe the condition and safety equipment as required by § 147-11K of this chapter.
A. 
The Police Department shall inspect the bicycle to determine that it is in a safe mechanical condition in accordance with § 147-11K of this chapter.
B. 
The Police Department shall also examine or cause to be examined the applicant as to his qualification for operating a bicycle and as to his knowledge of the vehicle and his knowledge of the vehicle and traffic laws of the State of New Jersey applicable to bicycles, traffic signs and signals.
A. 
The Director or his duly appointed representative may refuse to issue the license if the applicant's bicycle is found to be in an unsafe mechanical condition or if the applicant fails to pass the aforesaid examination. If the application is denied by the Director or his duly appointed representative, he shall notify the applicant of such denial in writing, stating the reasons for such denial.
B. 
The Police Department shall keep records of the action taken with respect to each application and the recording of the denial, suspension or revocation thereof.
The Director is hereby authorized and directed to issue, upon application, bicycle licenses, which shall be effective for the life of the bicycle. Any such license, when issued, shall entitle the person to operate any bicycle for which said license has been issued upon all the public streets and public places, exclusive of the sidewalks, in the City. Such license need not be countersigned by the City Clerk.
A. 
The City shall provide metallic license tags, together with certificates or cards approved by the Director. Said metallic tags and documents shall have numbers stamped thereon in numerical order and shall be issued only after the approval of the application and the payment of the required fee. The tag shall be kept firmly attached to the bicycle during the valid term of such license.
B. 
All persons engaged in the business of renting bicycles for hire shall be required to obtain a metallic tag and certificate or card for each bicycle used for hire.
C. 
The license fee to be paid for each bicycle tag shall be $0.50.
A. 
It shall be the duty of every person residing in the City who sells or transfers ownership of any bicycle to report such sale or transfer by returning to police headquarters the license tag issued to such owner, together with the name and address of the person to whom the bicycle is sold or transferred. Such report shall be made within five days of the date of sale or transfer. It shall be the duty of the purchaser or the transferee to apply to police headquarters for a license therefor within five days of the date of said sale or transfer. Issuance of such license shall be subject to all other applicable provisions of this chapter.
B. 
A fee of $0.50 shall be paid for each transfer.
A. 
Any person operating a bicycle shall obey all official traffic control signals, signs and other control devices applicable to vehicles, unless otherwise directed by a police officer.
B. 
Every person riding a bicycle upon a public highway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of 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 City applicable to the driver of a vehicle.
C. 
A person propelling a bicycle shall not ride other than astride and seated upon a permanent seat attached thereto.
D. 
No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed and equipped.
E. 
Every person operating a bicycle upon the roadway of a public highway shall ride as near to the right-hand side of such roadway as practicable and shall not ride two abreast, except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
F. 
No person shall operate a bicycle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing.
G. 
No person riding upon a bicycle shall attach the same or himself to any vehicle upon a roadway.
H. 
No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package, bundle or article which prevents the rider from keeping both hands upon the handlebars.
I. 
No person may operate or ride any bicycle upon any public sidewalk within the City; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to children under 10 years of age; and except that no person may operate or ride a bicycle upon any sidewalk within the commercial zone district. No person may operate or ride a bicycle in or upon any municipal parking facilities or parking facilities controlled by the Rahway Parking Utility, nor upon any public plazas or upon any properties posted as private and not owned by those persons within the City of Rahway, except that individuals may cross municipal parking facilities or public plazas only for the purposes of reaching public facilities, such as schools, public library, recreation center and train station.
[Amended 8-9-2004 by Ord. No. O-29-04; 12-13-2021 by Ord. No. O-45-21]
J. 
No person shall park a bicycle upon a public 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.
K. 
Every bicycle on a public highway shall be equipped and maintained in compliance with Title 39 of the Revised Statutes of the State of New Jersey.
[Added 2-14-2005 by Ord. No. O-2-05; amended 3-11-2019 by Ord. No. O-03-19]
A. 
The restriction contained in § 147-11.1 hereinabove shall not apply to those sections of sidewalks that have been or shall be designated as official authorized bikeways. Each sidewalk or section thereof that has been or shall be designated as an official authorized bikeway shall have signs posted along the bikeway route designed such as an official authorized bikeway.
B. 
The streets or parts of streets described in Schedule XXVIII (§ 401-6.1), attached to and made a part of this chapter, are hereby designated as designated bikeways in the direction(s) indicated.
C. 
Class I. Streets segments with a travel lane of 15 feet or greater shall be considered acceptable for installation of Class I bicycle lanes consisting of a five-foot-wide bicycle lane demarcated with solid white line lane striping; and yellow striping bifurcating opposing bicycle travel lanes, where necessary; these lanes shall include standard bicycle symbols painted on the street and optional contrast coloring within the bike lanes clearly indicating the space as a bicycle lane. When a bikeway is designated within Class I, the bicycle lanes shall be located on the right side of two-way streets and the left side of one-way streets, between parking and travel lanes.
D. 
Class II. Streets segments with a travel lane of less than 15 feet or with traffic patterns that make Class I bicycle lanes impractical, shall be considered acceptable for installation of Class II bicycle route markings consisting of standard bicycle symbols and double chevrons, also known as sharrows, painted on the street to communicate that drivers shall share the road with bicyclists; these routes may also include "Share the Road" posted signage. When a bikeway is designated as Class II, the routes shall have offset markings to the right of the travel lane center so that bicyclists are guided outside of the door sweep area of parked cars.
E. 
Appropriate striping, pavement markings, and/or signage shall be used at intersections where streets transition between one-way and two-way traffic flow.
F. 
Street designations and typical lane configurations are meant to be standard guidelines; however, all final bicycle lane and route configurations are subject to professional review and recommendation by the City Engineer and/or Police Department Traffic Bureau and shall be included in the City Code.
A. 
The police officers of the City may inspect any bicycle on any public highway or public place at any time to ascertain whether or not it has a license tag properly displayed on it or whether the bicycle is in proper mechanical condition to be operated safely. In the event that a bicycle is being used or operated without the aforesaid tag or is in such condition as to be unfit for safe operation in accordance with § 147-11K of this chapter, the Police Department may impound and confiscate the bicycle until such time as the person or persons owning it have procured the necessary license tag or have rendered the bicycle safe for use.
B. 
Written notice or receipt must be given to the owner as the result of any impounding or confiscation of a bicycle.
A. 
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter and who, by reason of his age, is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall have his or her bicycle or vehicle impounded by the Police Department's Safety Officer.
B. 
For the first offense such impoundment shall be for a period of not more than 15 days, at the discretion of the Safety Officer.
C. 
For a second or subsequent offense, such impoundment shall be for a period of not more than 30 days, at the discretion of the Safety Officer.
D. 
Upon the expiration of a term of impoundment, said bicycle or vehicle shall be released by the Safety Officer only upon presentation to him by the parent or legal guardian of the owner of a release authorization signed by the Judge, and the Judge shall sign such authorization only upon personal appearance before him by said parent or legal guardian.
All persons, firms, partnerships or corporations engaged in the business of buying or selling new or secondhand bicycles are hereby required to make regular reports to the Police Department on forms to be furnished by the Police Department, giving a list of all purchases and sales made by said dealer, as well as the name and address of all persons, firms, partnerships and corporations from whom said bicycles are purchased and to whom sold, a description of each bicycle purchased or sold and the serial number thereof and in the case of a secondhand bicycle bought from an individual or taken in trade from a person buying a new bicycle or a secondhand bicycle taken from a dealer's stock, the number of the license thereon, if any.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to willfully or maliciously remove, destroy, mutilate or alter the number of any bicycle frame licensed pursuant to this chapter. It shall also be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to remove, destroy, mutilate or alter any license tags, seal or registration card during the time in which said license tags, seal or registration card is operative; provided, however, that nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the Police Department from stamping on the frame of bicycles on which no serial number can be found or on which said serial number is illegible for identification purposes. The Police Department may also stamp upon the frame of any bicycle registered a number which shall be the secret number of the Police Department, if so required, in the administration of this chapter to prevent bicycle larceny and recover stolen bicycles.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter and who is subject to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a fine of not more than $10 or suffer the impoundment of the bicycle for not more than 30 days.