Metro

DUNCANSVILLE — Members of the Duncansville Borough Council discussed issuing a physical e-bike/vehicle regulation flyer to borough residents and an online version through their monthly email newsletter after public discussion at Wednesday’s meeting.

This proposal follows last month’s meeting when many community members voiced their concern about locals illegally using e-bikes and vandalizing homes.

Community member David Brenneman approached the podium and asked council members to stop the rampant misuse of e-bikes in the borough.

“Because somebody’s going to get killed,” Brenneman said, pointing to an instance when a group of three female cyclists traveled too fast down the road without minding traffic laws.

Mayor Eric Fritz said he’s having conversations with individuals who’ve disobeyed traffic laws, making sure they understand traffic laws and violations.

Borough manager and Police Chief Rodney Estep suggested handing out flyers with e-bike/vehicle regulation information to parents.

According to Estep, there are about 550 homes in the borough, so it will cost about $400 to send a flyer to each home at 78 cents a piece.

There was no vote on Estep’s proposal, however.

Council member Nicole Estep said Altoona is experiencing a similar issue with e-bikes, as her son-in-law mentioned to her that they are getting out of hand.

At least six municipalities have the same issue, solicitor Michael S. Emerick said. He’s heard the same conversations at every meeting he attends.

“People are paying attention to see if there is a solution somebody else comes up with,” he said.

Parental enforcement is a huge factor in e-bike usage, Rodney Estep said.

Looking at the patrol side of the issue, he said that borough police officers can’t be everywhere all the time. He told the public that he spent 100 miles of patrol time on the 0.8-mile street last week looking for e-bike violators, but he didn’t see any cyclists.

“They see me before I see them,” he said. “We’re in the same category as you guys.”

He said he believes the situation is getting better in the borough, but it’s still an issue.

Borough patrolman Traci Winters mentioned hosting a bike rodeo through

PennDOT, but it was going to be a six-month timeline, so she didn’t expect the event to happen this year.

However, she received a few bicycle owner manuals that could be on display at the upcoming Community Days festival from July 17 to 18.

Later in the meeting, Fritz said they’ve received 55 calls in the last month, equating to about two calls per day. He said they’re responding to and making an effort to patrol as much as possible.

Since spring 2023, Estep said he’s the only person who has driven the police car, which now has 16,000 miles from patrolling, with 90% of that time being in the borough.

Stating that crime can happen when three officers are on duty, he doesn’t “want the public to think that we’re not out there patrolling, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do a better job.”

He suggested possibly parking an extra patrol car in the borough, but it would be easy for someone to realize that no one was sitting in the vehicle.

To increase patrol times, he said that borough residents have to support a tax increase to afford more officers. The police budget of $165,000 would have to at least double to afford to patrol 24 hours a day.

Community member Rick Beard asked the council to eliminate e-bikes in town, but the members disagreed because many residents abide by the rules.

“We can’t write a law that supersedes Pennsylvania,” Estep said. “We can’t say, ‘in Pennsylvania, you can drive cars, but in Duncansville borough, you can’t.'”

All board members except President Annette Lewis were present Wednesday. Their next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Duncansville Borough Community Center.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.