PARKERSBURG — With a proposed ordinance allowing the impounding of motorized bicycles poised to be submitted to the West Virginia Municipal Home Rule Board, some Parkersburg City Council members want to ban the vehicles outright.

The agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting includes the final reading of an ordinance to send the proposal to the Home Rule board. If the ordinance is authorized by the board and passed on two additional readings by council, police would have the option to confiscate a bike if someone violating municipal code with it did not have a driver’s license.

Also slated for the 7:30 p.m. Meeting is the first reading of an ordinance sponsored by Councilmen Bob Mercer and Eric Barber and Councilwoman Sharon Kuhl that would prohibit the use of the bikes on city streets, roadways and public rights of way.

Barber said during the July 28 meeting that people in District 4, which he represents, have told him they want the bikes gone.

“The people in my neighborhood have had enough, as have I,” he said.

Barber said many of the bikes are noisy and used late at night and a number of riders don’t follow traffic laws. While the bikes are ridden around the city, many of the owners live in District 4 and the bikes are a constant presence there, he said.

Parkersburg resident Calvin Kirby builds and sells motorized bikes and rides one himself. He said the bikes are used by many people to get to and from work or even to do jobs, like delivering food for DoorDash.

“I am totally against” a ban on the bikes, Kirby said. “That would be taking our rights away from us.”

The impoundment ordinance was proposed after Parkersburg Police wrote 55 citations under an ordinance passed last year. Only four fines were paid, and five citations were dismissed because the violation was corrected, according to data provided by the city.

A driver’s license suspension is a potential penalty for someone who does not appear or pay a fine on a citation. But some people use motorized bikes because they do not have a driver’s license. Without that added means of enforcement, many people simply ignore the citations, city officials have said.

Kirby said he and other riders planned to attend Tuesday’s meeting to suggest a three-strikes policy in which a rider’s bike would be confiscated if he or she was cited a third time after failing to pay the two previous fines.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a driver’s license or not,” he said.

Barber acknowledged there are people who obey traffic laws and utilize the bikes properly, but they are being “drastically overshadowed by those who are using them improperly and not in good faith.”

“You’ve got guys that absolutely follow the rues, but there seems to be more of those that aren’t following the rules than those that are,” Mercer said. “A lot of them don’t pay attention to the rules of the road — trust me, I’ve seen them.”

Mercer said he believes banning the bikes is the best solution until the state passes laws specifically regulating them.

City Attorney Joe Santer said that in his opinion state code is silent on motorized bikes.

“They cover mopeds, they cover motorcycles, they cover bicycles, but they don’t cover motorized bikes,” he said.

The 2019 ordinance defined motorized bikes in the city and required them to follow traffic rules, in addition to mandating that riders wear helmets and reflective vests.

Council President Mike Reynolds said he supports legislation like the one proposed to go to Home Rule.

“I’m not in favor of just writing meaningless tickets,” he said.

As for a complete ban, “I’m open to it,” Reynolds said. “I’m going to wait to see what we find out from the city attorney.”

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.