Boothbay Harbor can be confusing to tourists and out-of-town drivers. A myriad of one-way streets, oddball intersections and streets that change from one-way to two-way are all over the place.

One often sees cyclists riding the wrong day down one-way streets, which is against the law; and, despite the signage asking cyclists not to, some ride across the footbridge.

“It’s hard to ride safely through town sometimes, there’s not enough room,” Town Manager Tom Woodin said. “Narrow roads make it dangerous.”

At the last Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Vice Chairman Robert Splaine spoke regarding cyclists riding across the footbridge and asked Woodin to speak to Chief of Police Bob Hasch about the problem. Splaine suggested an officer could be stationed at one end of the footbridge to pass out tickets to cyclists who are not walking their bikes.

“I have threatened to throw several of them off the footbridge, bike and all,” Splaine said. “I’m still fit enough to do it.”

Woodin did speak to Hasch, who promised to keep an eye on the footbridge. This past week, out of 15 times Hasch was at the bridge, he only needed to speak with a cyclist once.

Over the weekend, Splaine was taking a walk across the footbridge and had another encounter with a cyclist.

“I didn’t realize until the last second he was going to crash into me,” Splaine said. “I wheeled to the left and grabbed his handlebars because I knew I was going to get walloped. I kept calm though I was angry and asked him ‘please get off your bicycle and walk it the rest of the way across the footbridge.’

“Well, he was the most uncouth man I’ve met in a long while and that suggestion went over like a lead balloon.

“I attempted to arrest him and he sped away on his bike, so I hightailed it up to the police station to report the incident,” Splaine said. There police told him that if he had thrown the cyclist’s bike over the footbridge, as he admits he was tempted to do, he would have gone to jail.

“I’m 75 years old,” Splaine said. “I go out and walk every day if I can to keep in shape. Why this town doesn’t care about the rights of senior citizens and children, who could be killed by bicycles riding on the busy sidewalks of downtown and the footbridge, is a mystery to me,” Splaine said.

According to Woodin and the Boothbay Harbor Town Code, the rule regarding cyclists on the footbridge is merely a suggestion, not a law.

“There is no ordinance or rule saying you can’t ride across the footbridge,” Woodin said. “I don’t think it would be a great expenditure of police time to station an officer at the bridge.”

Interestingly, the same is also true of riding on sidewalks in Boothbay Harbor. Though it can be dangerous, especially in the summer when sidewalks are packed with pedestrians, Maine law allows cyclists to operate on sidewalks unless forbidden by the town code. In Boothbay Harbor no such rule exists.

Cyclists and motorists have different opinions regarding the use of bikes in the Harbor. Doug Roberts, owner of Oak Street Provisions in Boothbay Harbor, is known for his work with the Rotary Club, lending bikes to anyone who needs them, especially international workers.

“I think it might be a language barrier,” Roberts said. “I always hand out a pamphlet explaining the rules of the road to cyclists we give bikes to but I don’t think anyone is reading them. We also offer helmets to everyone but no one will take one.”

“If there were bike lanes on the streets, it would be safer for us I think,” said Jordan Williams, a visitor to the region and cyclist. “I don’t think people should ride across the footbridge, though,” Williams said. “It’s too dangerous.”

Williams’ friend Maureen Able said that she didn’t like riding with traffic because cars got impatient at her slower speed.

“We can only go so fast, and they need to share the road. If they want us to obey the rules of the road they need to do the same,” Able said.

“25 years ago, this wouldn’t be a problem,” Splaine said. “Whatever happened to common courtesy? I’m old enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. I know it’s wrong to ride a bike along a busy shopping center sidewalk and risk bodily harm to people.”

Local planning Board Chairman Mike Tomko, who was on the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Bicycle Pedestrian Plan, said that one of the suggestions discussed by the committee was a need for more signs advising not only bicyclists, but all vehicles about rules of the road in Boothbay Harbor.

“It’s usually the casual cyclist that gets confused by the laws and roads,” Tomko said. “While I was on the (Bicycle Pedestrian) Committee, the hardcore cyclists (who I was very impressed by) found the town very bike-friendly and easy to navigate.”

The Bicycle Pedestrian Committee made several recommendations that will make the roads and sidewalks safer for both pedestrians and cyclists, which will be folded into the Comprehensive Plan still being constructed.

Splaine said at the next Boothbay Harbor selectmen’s meeting, he would propose an emergency ordinance change to prohibit cyclists from riding on sidewalks in town and along the footbridge.

The next selectmen’s meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 8 at the Town Office.

Katrina Clark can be reached at 207-633-4620 or katrinaclark@boothbayregister.com. Follow her on Twitter: @BBRegisterClark or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BBRegisterKatrinaClark.