- Associated Press - Sunday, March 1, 2020

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - It’s been illegal to ride a bike on sidewalks downtown for 60 years, but it’s one of those laws the Lincoln Police Department rarely enforces.

That’s about to change, however.

Capt. Don Scheinost, who oversees the downtown area, said recently that members of the department’s Center Team are starting to crack down on people riding on sidewalks where banned, which encompasses K to R and Ninth to 16th streets in the downtown area and O to R and Seventh to Ninth streets in the Haymarket.

While cracking down in February may seem like odd timing, it’s an effort to remind people of the law in advance of electric rental scooters arriving in Lincoln in the next couple of months. Those scooters also will be banned on downtown sidewalks.

“We just want to educate the public,” Scheinost told the Lincoln Journal Star.

First-time offenders will get warnings for at least the first few weeks of enforcement, he added.

Those who eventually get a ticket will face a fine of $25, plus court costs of $49.

The city has at times cracked down on cyclists on downtown sidewalks, usually in response to complaints from workers or businesses. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, officers on bicycles could often be seen stopping cyclists in violation of the ban.

However, police have issued only about a dozen tickets for riding on sidewalks since 2014. The city even considered rescinding the ban in 2016, but ultimately left rules in place.

In 2017, the City Council voted 4-3 to allow skateboards and nonmotorized scooters on downtown sidewalks.

Scheinost, though, said that with rental electric scooters arriving soon, “we see the potential for some issues.”

He said he understands that it may be more convenient to ride on the sidewalk and people may feel safer riding there than in the street. But it is also a safety issue with so many pedestrians in the downtown area.

“I would encourage people to use the bicycle lanes,” Scheinost said, noting that the motorized scooters will be allowed on the N Street Cycle Track, even though they will be banned on city trails.

Todd Ogden, president and CEO of the Downtown Lincoln Association, said his organization’s goal is to keep downtown residents, employees and patrons safe, so he sees the crackdown as valuable tool to do that.

“Hopefully this new policy will ticket those who put others in harm’s way, while only giving warnings to those who just need to be aware of the current policy,” he said.

Scheinost said he doesn’t have any data to show whether the Cycle Track or protected bike lanes added on 11th, 14th and R streets have cut down on people riding on downtown sidewalks, nor does he have any data showing whether the introduction of the BikeLNK bike-share program has led to more violators.

BikeLNK has posted a reminder on its Twitter account that riding on the sidewalk is illegal.

Most of the BikeLNK docking stations are on sidewalks, and Interim Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Tom Casady said he hasn’t noticed those rental bikes being ridden on sidewalks outside of times when the renter is trying to get to the nearest curb cut.

The use of motorized scooters on sidewalks has challenged most of the cities where rental programs were launched, Casady said. He believes Lincoln will face the same problem.

Historically, bicyclists issued warnings by police abandoned riding on the sidewalk, and most were young adults who didn’t know the law, said Casady, a longtime Lincoln police chief.

“I think it will be the same way with scooters,” he said.

City officials are working on educating people about the sidewalk restrictions, and the pilot program for scooters will require the companies operating here to host a public event before they launch in Lincoln.

“The more information we can get out to people about where they can or cannot be ridden in advance, the better,” Casady said.

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