WILDWOOD CREST – Wildwood Crest Board of Commissioners introduced an ordinance March 8 to prevent people from locking bikes, beach chairs, or other items to benches, fences or railings.
Commissioner Joseph Schiff, the borough’s director of public safety, said one of the problems the borough is having is people storing items at the beach by chaining them to fences and railings to avoid having to carry them back and forth.
Ordinance 1398 amends and supplements Section 48-4 of the public facilities code, which prohibits people from using any public or quasi-public bench or seat for sleeping or storing items.
The updates include making it unlawful to chain or otherwise fasten any bicycle, electric bicycle, surrey, mini bikes, mopeds, scooters, beach carts, and chairs to borough property that is not intended for that use; specifically, but not limited to benches, fencing and railings.
In addition, the ordinance says, “Only bicycles, electric bicycles or scooters may be placed in or secured to a bicycle rack.”
During public comment, resident Kathryn Hughes asked the commissioners if the borough has enough bike racks to accommodate all the bicycles, electric bicycles and scooters being used in Wildwood Crest.
“Public Works is in the process of installing them at the street ends,” Mayor Don Cabrera said.
Hughes asked if bike racks would be installed in the parks, at Sunset Lake, and the soon-to-be-opened Crest Arts Pavilion.
“Yes,” Cabrera said.
The ordinance also says it is unlawful to leave any electric or nonelectric bicycles or scooters unattended on a bike path, sidewalk, street, right of way, or within any park area, or set against borough property. “Unattended,” the ordinance says, is defined as “not within visual sight of the property.”
The ordinance will permit the borough police or public works to “detach such property,” such as cutting a lock or chain, at the owner’s expense, and impound the property. Violators of the ordinance will be subject to a fine of not less than $100.
Ordinance 1398 is scheduled for a second reading and public hearing March 22. Once passed, the ordinance will become effective 20 days after publication.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
