Manteca passes bike street takeover ordinance with misdemeanor, $1,000 fine penalties
By Charlie Lapastora
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SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — Manteca has seen its fair share of bicyclists taking over public streets and even the highway. Tuesday evening, city leaders hoped to do something about it.
Manteca police saw how a nearby Ceres ordinance reduced the number of bike groups in the middle of the street, creating hazards. After some recent incidents in Manteca, they’re trying to implement something similar in their city.
“Nothing good can come out of riding your bicycle towards a moving vehicle and hoping you swerve out of the way,” Manteca Chief of Police Stephen Schluer said.
It’s why the police force wanted an ordinance to curb bicyclists from riding on streets.
After Manteca Mayor Gary Singh, Vice Mayor Regina Lackey, and city council members talked about the agenda item Tuesday evening with the Chief Schluer and interim city attorney Riana Daniel, who beforehand announced her resignation, it passed unanimously 5-0.
“We encourage you to be safe,” David Breitenbucher, Manteca city councilmember, said. “If you’re going to do this, be safe. There’s a safe way to do it and there’s a stupid way to do it, and we have an ordinance to take care of the stupid way.”
If caught on a street takeover, bicyclists could be handed a misdemeanor with a maximum of a $1,000 fine. For those 16 and under, the penalty could be a bike safety course and getting the bike impounded.
“We want these kids to be safe,” Chief Schluer said. “We want them to ride safely and we have nothing against bicycle organizations and creating safe bike rides and following the rules of the road that they’re supposed to.”
The main focus would also be to penalize the organizers of the bike rides.
“In the long run, it’s just to protect the kids who are going out, they’re riding directly at cars traveling at them at 25 miles an hour, and they swerve out of the way at the last minute or there’s a group of them that are obstructing traffic and try to prevent them from doing that,” Chief Schluer said. “Last month, they even took it as far as to get on the freeway and drive on the freeway with it. The behavior’s unacceptable, and so this is our way to try to end it or stop it, at least here in Manteca.”
Council members and police recognize the benefits and fun to be had by biking. The goal is just to keep bikers and drivers safe on the roads.
“Sometimes these kids are younger,” Chief Schluer said. “Between maybe, 14, 15, 16 years old, they don’t think of the consequences. You know, they just think it’s fun.”
Chief Schluer told CBS Sacramento he doesn’t want to “punish” bikers but just to correct their behavior to bike in the proper spots, like the sidewalks and recently improved bike lanes in the city that he says are clearly marked and green. He recognizes this may not put an end to street bikers but the hope is to curb it.
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