OCEAN CITY Due to high
speed and the potential of adding
further chaos to the Boardwalk, the
Ocean City Police Commission this
week did not favor allowing the
rental of Trikkes to operate on the
Boardwalk.
On Monday morning a presenta-
tion of Trikkes by Bryant Hungerford
was scheduled for the Police Com-
mission. Hungerford was interested
in renting out the electric version of
the vehicle to be operated on the
Boardwalk and in order to do so
wanted to change a city ordinance.
A Trikke is a brand of a three-
wheel, or three-point, standing, car-
ving vehicle that resembles a scoot-
er, and can be body powered by a
swerving action or electronically
powered.
Despite Hungerford rescheduling
his presentation for March 10, the
Police Commission looked into
Ocean City's current code regarding
the electric version of the vehicle
being operated on the Boardwalk.
Ocean Police Department (OC-
PD) Lt. Scott Harner explained the
vehicle is defined by the Maryland
Transportation Article as a "Motoriz-
ed minibike," which means a motor
vehicle that has two or three
wheels, and is not subject to regis-
tration under Title 13 of the article. A
Motorized minibike does not include
a motor scooter, a moped or a farm
tractor.
Ocean City's Code states, "the
operation of bicycles, pushcarts and
Electronic personal assistive mobili-
ty device (EPAMD) on the board-
walk is only permitted from Satur-
day of Memorial Day weekend
through Labor Day, between 2 a.m.
and 11 a.m. of the same day, from
Tuesday after Labor Day through
Friday before Memorial Day at any
time, except for the times of Spring-
fest and Sunfest."
An EPAMD, also known as a
Segway, is defined as a device that
has two non-tandem wheels, is self-
balancing, is powered by an electric
propulsion system, has a maximum
speed capability of 15 mph and is
designed to transport one person.
The code furthers, "it shall be un-
lawful for any nongovernmental
motor vehicle, motor-assisted vehi-
cle, bicycle, pushcart, or EPAMDs
to be operated on the boardwalk at
any time without permission of the
Mayor and City Council or its desig-
nated agent except during the time
set forth in the code."
Harner expanded on that part of
the code, saying, "The motorized
version of the Trikke is prohibited ...
on the boardwalk at any time, so I
don't think it is possible for Mr. Hun-
gerford to proceed renting them on
the Boardwalk as it is currently pro-
hibited."
One could argue there is no dif-
ference between a Segway and an
electric Trikke, Harner said, howev-
er an EPAMD is defined under state
Trikke Proposal For Boardwalk
Worries OC Police Commision
law as a pedestrian device and a
motorized minibike is defined as a
motor vehicle.
The version Hungerford is pro-
posing to have operate on the
Boardwalk has a maximum speed
of 16 mph. OCPD Chief Ross Buz-
zuro pointed out traveling the length
of the Boardwalk at max speed
would take about 8 minutes.
"I just don't think it is going to
work on the Boardwalk," Commis-
sion Chair Councilman Doug Cy-
mek said in regard to both the mo-
torized and non-motorized versions
of the Trikke.
City Solicitor Guy Ayres pointed
out the non-motorized version of the
Trikke would currently be permitted
on the Boardwalk under City Code,
which can swerve up to 6-8 feet
wide."To me, that poses more of a
problem than the motorized ver-
sion," Ayres said
Councilman Dennis Dare made a
motion to forward a non-favorable
recommendation of allowing the
motorized version of a Trikke to op-
erate on the Boardwalk.
"I am personally not in favor of
adding any more chaos to the
Boardwalk," Dare said.
Before passing forward the com-
mission's non-favorable consensus,
Council President Lloyd Martin felt it
was only fair to allow Hungerford to
make his presentation first.
"We will let the gentlemen speak
but there doesn't seem to be a lot of
enthusiasm here," Cymek said.
The commission asked Harner to
return with further recommendations
in how to modernize the code to ad-
dress the non-motorized Trikke, as
well as what the maximum mph
should be allowed on the Boardwalk
considering the speed of the Board-
walk Tram compared to other vehi-
cles allowed on the Boardwalk.
When it was announced the
Police Commission would be pre-
sented the concept of Trikkes,
Council Secretary Mary Knight ask-
ed for the commission to review the
code in regard to the popular Christ-
mas toy this year, a Razor Crazy
Cart, which is a drifting version of a
go cart. Harner confirmed the Crazy
Cart is also prohibited from the
Boardwalk.
An example of a Trikke is pictur-
ed.
Photo courtesy of Trikke
Page 18
January 17, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
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