VILLAS – The Lower Township Police Department recently gave a public presentation on e-bikes and how the department is addressing problems at the Clem Mulligan Sports Complex.

Deputy Chief Don Vanaman and Capt. Mchael Majane visited the Monday, July 7, Lower Township Council meeting to discuss e-bikes in relation to recent complaints about riders at the park and sports complex, which is situated in a residential neighborhood in Villas. At the council’s previous last meeting, neighborhood resident Gary Newton told the council there were too many e-bikes, minibikes and small dirt bikes traveling at high rates of speed on the grounds of Mulligan Field.

The officers said Class I and Class II e-bikes can travel at a top speed of 20 mph, whereas a Class III e-bike can travel 28 mph or more. The Class III is essentially an electric motorcycle. Vanaman said legislation is needed to restrict the use of e-bikes, much as it did for mopeds, requiring permits or licenses, registration, insurance and helmets.

However, nearby residents said the e-bikes are not really the problem at Mulligan Field.

Resident Sabina Bloom said its also mopeds, dirt bikes and quads that ride in the park, doing wheelies and other maneuvers. She said she had no problem with people choosing to use e-bikes for transportation, but the noise and apparent danger presented by quad or ATV riders going through the park is what disturbs her.

Clem Mulligan Sports Complex backs up to a wooded area, where the off-road vehicles are used. However, Bloom, her husband, Samuel, and a neighbor named Kelly turned out to voice concerns that were more about juvenile behavior, which has been a big concern in New Jersey, especially with the attorney general’s directive on juvenile justice.

That December 2020 directive advised police departments to take nonjudicial actions against juveniles rather than put them into the criminal justice system. The directive restricted what police could do regarding juvenile offenders. More serious offenses, such as the 17-year-old shooting a 9mm pistol on the Wildwood boardwalk, will result in an arrest; however, the neighbors described more quality-of-life issues such as noise, underage drinking and breaking bottles.

The neighbor named Kelly said she has seen underaged individuals “drunk as a skunk” near her home at 11 p.m. or midnight. She said they will empty a bottle of Jack Daniels, break the bottle and then get in a car and leave.

“Spend a weekend at my home and see what happens,” she said.

The neighbors complained that police show up too late and the juveniles are gone, or tell the youths to move along.

Lower Township Solicitor Rob Belasco said it’s likely that offenders might be gone when police arrive, but added that the residents have to call again when they return.

“If I call 911 and say a group of kids is damaging my landscaping, and the cops show up, might take time, and they didn’t catch them in the act. When the cops leave and the kids come back (the residents) have to call again,” Belasco said.

Residents have been complaining about activities at Mulligan Field for years. At the June 5, 2023, Township Council meeting, three Villas residents said they were “disturbed and frightened by juvenile conduct” there.

Located between East Bates and Caroline avenues, the park was the site of a $2.6 million rehabilitation project that was completed a year ago and recently has been used as the site for the township’s Family Fun Night. The neighbors complained that on that night in 2023, visitors were parking their cars halfway onto people’s lawns. One woman said she mentioned it to a man who responded with a rude gesture.

Other ongoing problems, they said, were drinking, marijuana use and dealing drugs. There were also complaints of cars racing up Bates Avenue and children playing with air-soft guns that fire a plastic pellet, or perhaps SplatRBall guns, which fire a small liquid-filled pellet. Two years ago, the residents complained of broken glass all over the place, brazen attitudes and vandalism.

Township Manager Mike Laffey said the township worked to address some of these matters at subsequent Family Fun Nights, setting up tables and trying to educate the public on the law and safe behavior. He suggested repeating the practice at National Night Out 2025, which will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at Lower Cape May Regional High School.

Vanaman said the Police Department had a campaign to crack down on quads/ATVs that he described as “pretty successful.” He said, however, the state pursuit policy for police does not allow them to chase a quad. He said a pursuit usually ends up in accident and/or injury, and maybe even a death.

“It’s just not worth it when you are talking about the life of a young person,” he said.

But Vanaman added that the department had very sophisticated equipment and, with a good image of a juvenile’s face, could circulate the image among school resource officers, who might identify the offender. The department might also be able to use its drone unit to track offenders back home, he said. In each case, it could lead to parents being contacted.

He told the council that while it was in its power to ban e-bikes, he did not recommend it.

“A lot of people ae using them for their primary transportation now,” he said.

In addition, he said, a lot of people who visit nearby campgrounds are bringing e-bikes as a way to get around locally. He said he is fairly confident the state will soon regulate e-bikes as they did mopeds, and people will learn that they have to follow the rules of the road.

Vanaman said one of the biggest problems with e-bikes right now is that people ride them against traffic, which is how a lot of people ride bikes. He said even without state regulation, e-bike riders should show courtesy and yield to pedestrians at all times. Any riders under 17 must wear a helmet.

Asked about the gas-powered vehicles coming into the park, he said they also have to follow Department of Transportation standards as far as operating on streets, including having turn signals and a horn. Otherwise the use is confined to off-road areas.

Belasco said targeted enforcement is the best solution at this point.

Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.