Decorah resident calls bike ordinance "wildly out of date"

Decorah resident Benji Nichols appeared before the Decorah City Council Monday night to appeal to the group to reconsider how bicycle traffic laws are enforced in town.

Nichols says Decorah has an "antiquated and obscure" bicycle ordinance that needs to be updated--especially in light of the "millions of dollars" the community is spending on bike trails.

Nichols says if Decorah Police officers in squad cars continue to pull over bike riders, the city will lose its attraction to bicyclists.  He calls such actions "possibly one of the worst education efforts I can think of."

City council members have agreed to ask the city's Public Safety Committee to take a look at the parts of the city's ordinance involving bike riding.  Those sections were written in 1976.