Thursday, 8/28

The kids I saw in Lower Harbor Park Tuesday are the reason there's a meeting being held tonight.

Those of you who live in Marquette are well aware of the e-bike problem we have here in the city; especially with teenagers riding where they shouldn't on bikes they shouldn't. Many of the e-bikes causing problems are throttled e-bikes; they're basically little electric motorcycles that people who don't know how to use are using.

And causing problems by doing so.

Anyway, I spent a little time down at Lower Harbor Park Tuesday putting together commercial logs for the start of high school football on our Rockin' Eagle station, and while I was doing so a group of 4 14 or 15-year olds decided to invade the park with their electric motorcycles, riding up and down the grass (which you're not supposed to do) and weaving in and out of people who were trying to do whatever one does in a park (also something else you're not supposed to do). I think someone must have called the police on them, as a patrol car soon showed up. By then, however, the kids had ridden away, leaving a wake of angry park users in their wake.

You see what the problem is, right?

Bad cell phone picture I took of some of the kids zooming across the grass at Lower Harbor Park

Because of situations like the one I witnessed, the city of Marquette has set up an "E-Bike and Multi Use Path Task Force", which has been charged with gathering public opinion, and then setting up rules on where e-bikes and their riders belong and where they don't. It's a good idea, although there already ARE rules in regards to the bike paths and what you can or can not ride on them. I'm hopeful the task force can help curb the problem; I also know that, with kids being kids, it might take something a little stronger than that, like, you know, parents actually getting involved in what their kids are doing and letting them know the difference between having fun and being a complete jerkwad.

I mean, both you and I know that that's probably not gonna happen, but a boy can dream, right?

Anyway, the Task Force is looking for public input at several meetings they're having the next few months, including one today at 530 at the Citizen's Forum at Lakeview Arena, and you're more than welcome to help them out. If you can't make one of the meetings, they're also soliciting comments online at the city's website. So if you have an opinion on the matter, or an incident you'd like to recount, do so.

Who knows? Maybe Marquette might be a safer place because of it.

(jim@wmqt.com)