The Providence Village Town Council gave the Aubrey Police Department some teeth on electric bikes at the July 21 meeting.
The agenda item was discussed at the previous council meeting to amend Chapter 12, 'Traffic and Vehicles,” and add a subdivision for e-bikes, but no action was taken, as council wanted more time to review the matter.
“It's all about safety, and we want to protect the citizens, and these children and older people that are riding your bikes to get this ordinance enacted so that we can start enforcing it now, and then any amendments could be considered at a later date, or it could be worked on in the process instead of delaying this ordinance,” Aubrey Police Assistant Chief Jeremy Johnson said.
The council debated whether to allow ebikes on the sidewalk and whether headphones and earbuds on sidewalks when operating an e-bike should be prohibited.
Council member Klayton Rutherford expressed his apprehension about prohibiting earbuds on sidewalks and requested that sidewalks regulations be discussed at a separate time.
“I would be careful about a bunch of ordinances in relation to something that's not causing us an issue that we need to address, because again, the more we do, the more we infringe, the less the public can do of their own will,” Aubrey Police Chief Richard Brooks said.
He added that the police would oppose adding the ordinance to include sidewalks but would support an ordinance for the streets and highways, emphasizing that the goal of the ordinance is safety.
“I’m an advocate of let’s let the conditions dictate what we need to do,” Brooks said.
Council approved the ordinance to amend Chapter 12, “Traffic and Vehicles,” Article 12.03 “Operation of Vehicles” by adding a new division called “electric bicycles” to include the following changes: adding section F under 12.03 that A through E are only applicable to streets and highways, and the first offense is $250, and any subsequent offense within one year is $500.
The motion passed in a 5-1 vote with Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Doramus dissenting.
“I just believe in parents' rights, and adding additional ordinances and restricting their choices is not something I'm … a firm believer in,” Doramus said.
During the public comment portion, resident Ashley Wright requested that the council increase police presence at West Pond Drive and Enclave Boulevard and add more safety measures to draw more attention to the stop sign.
The council approved an ordinance that will add a stop sign at the northbound-southbound intersection at West Pond Drive and Enclave Boulevard to make it a four-way stop.
“There's nothing wrong with the stop signs,” Town manager Brian Roberson said. “They're not faded; they're not covered by trees. There's no reason—logical reason— for people not to stop. They just don't care. But we're going to put the orange flags on them as well to draw attention to the change, and hopefully with some assistance from the police department we can give them a reason to care.”
The council approved another budget amendment to the 2025-26 fiscal year budget that has no impact on the property tax rate.
The council also awarded the sealed bid proposal contract to TTE LLC, which was the lowest-qualified bidder for the ground storage tank.
The total bid was under budget at $3.1 million.
Also at the meeting, council member Elise Jumbelick asked that a parks and recreations ordinance be brought up at a future point.
