Wyoming Valley Levee overseer scheduled to vote on e-bike policy | Dallas Post

A new policy regulating the use of electric bikes on popular recreational paths atop the Wyoming Valley Levee along the Susquehanna River is scheduled for a vote at Tuesday’s Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority meeting, the agenda said.

Authority executive director Christopher Belleman had first suggested the drafting of a policy for e-bikes after someone on one sped past him while he was working on the levee path. This person was “flying,” and the e-bike “was like a small motorcycle,” he had said at the time.

The five-citizen authority has considered options ranging from a complete ban on e-bikes to specific speed limits. It also scheduled a public session in October to accept public input.

In response to a request for the plan now under consideration, the authority supplied a document that contained two different options.

One possibility was in a sample of levee rules that would be posted if that plan is adopted: “E-bike usage limited to human power or pedal-assist power at a safe speed (electric assist while pedaling).”

The other option would prohibit e-bikes and other unauthorized motor and battery powered modes of transportation and provide an exception for motorized or battery-powered wheelchairs or other transportation devices specifically designed for use by those with disabilities.

Tuesday’s meeting is at 1 p.m. in the authority building, 1989 Wyoming Ave. in Forty Fort.

Questions have been raised about enforcement of an e-bike policy.

Authority Solicitor Christopher Slusser told the board in October that levee users would be obligated to follow any levee use policy, regardless of whether the authority or a police department is out there every day enforcing it. He said the same applies to speed laws for highways.

If a policy is in place, an alleged violator could be cited if a problem occurs, Slusser has said.

The draft document says the authority will work with applicable municipal police agencies to cite users “who are creating unsafe conditions or possibly causing unwarranted damage to the flood protection system.”

It also solidifies other rules that bicyclists and other levee trailer users should stay to the right and pass on the left, with cyclists yielding to pedestrians at all times.

Trail users are encouraged to remain aware of conditions and “not impair their hearing through the wearing of headphones or ear buds,” it said.

Prohibited activities would include skateboarding, the use of alcohol and illegal drugs, indecent language, disorderly conduct, littering, camping, open fires and golfing, it said.

All animals are to be strictly controlled on a leash, and waste must be removed.

Horses and other large animals are prohibited, it said. Belleman has said someone once attempted to ride a horse atop the levee.

Motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs and golf carts are not permitted on the levee trail, it said.

More business

Other voting matters include the award of a $1.798 million contract to Kingston-based Apollo Group Inc. to complete electronic control system upgrades in levee pump stations. Apollo was the low bidder, the agenda said. The project will be covered by federal American Rescue Plan funding earmarked by county council.

Also on the agenda is a $650,000 contract award to Verdantes in Wilkes-Barre for professional engineering and surveying services in the “Exeter Flood Protection Project,” which will be covered by the flood mitigation program. Verdantes was the sole bidder, the agenda said.

This project would design an approximately 1,600-foot levee that addresses a low spot vulnerable to flooding — if additional funding becomes available.

During record Susquehanna River flooding in September 2011, Exeter borough workers raced to construct their own makeshift levee in the middle of Susquehanna Avenue to prevent water from reaching more structures. More than 60 truck loads of a dirt and clay material were deposited on the avenue for several blocks.