It's impossible to enforce laws that don't exist: in this case, laws against driving on town sidewalks and across the footbridge. To that end, Boothbay Harbor Town Manager Tom Woodin presented a possible bicycle ordinance drafted by Police Chief Bob Hasch to selectmen at on July 8.

According to Maine law, cyclists must obey all rules of the road; it is up to local government to rule if cyclists may or may not ride on sidewalks. There are no local laws governing cyclists in Boothbay Harbor's current town code.

Selectmen felt the draft was a good place to start, and it would give the town a good starting point to work from should they decide to move forward with drafting an actual law. The town officials said they hope cyclists would respect pedestrians, eliminating the need to enforce any future official rules.

No votes or action was taken on the draft.

Selectman Robert Splaine apologized for his previous remarks regarding cyclists on the footbridge. At the previous meeting, he said he “threatened to throw several of them off the footbridge, bike and all.” He apologized for his tone.

“I would prefer to work with the police chief and town manager, rather than trying to control behavior,” Splaine said.

Katrina Clark can be reached at 207-633-4620 or katrinaclark@boothbayregister.com.