Cleveland City Council approved increased penalties for riding off-road vehicles on city roads at its meeting Monday night.
Under an ordinance introduced to council earlier Monday by the Department of Public Safety, the penalty for driving all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and other vehicles deemed a “nuisance” by the city will face a $1,000 fine.
“This here is a tool for us to better serve the citizens of Cleveland to deter this type of activity by creating greater consequence," said Public Safety Director Karrie Howard, "and it’s the first tool that we’re bringing to the table to assist with the efforts of the Division of Police.”
Anyone who participates in trick riding or blocking intersections so riders can perform tricks will also face a $1,000 fine. There will also be a $1,000 fine for driving a dirt bike or other off-road vehicle on city streets without registration.
Previous penalties were as low as $50.
Council added the ordinance to the finance committee agenda on Monday. The legislation bypassed the usual committee process and was heard in finance prior to its introduction to the full council Monday night for passage.
“I prefer everything to come through the committee,” said Safety Committee Chairman Mike Polensek. “We have been talking about this year for far too long. In fact, it seems like for years now we’ve been talking about this growing problem.”
The issue of large groups of dirt bike riders has stirred controversy in Cleveland for years.
In 2016, former Mayor Frank Jackson proposed building a dirt bike park at Marion Motley Park on Cleveland’s East Side.
Council President Blaine Griffin was Jackson’s Community Relations Board director at the time and was supportive of building a park, focusing on how popular the activity is.
“This culture led us to really engage and to begin to talk about what we could do in order to try to do some things in order to get some of the bike riders off the streets in order to try to find a safe place for them to go,” Griffin told council at the time.
That plan for a park was eventually withdrawn by Jackson after concerns over insurance and the site it should be built on.
During the council meeting Monday, there was no mention of building a park in addition to the increased penalties.
“I’ve always embraced these bike life guys,” Griffin said. “There’s a difference between lawlessness and people who are just adrenaline junkies, and we need to separate the two.”
Over the weekend, Cleveland police made 12 felony arrests during a crackdown on riders. The department issued 30 citations and confiscated 15 off-road vehicles from riders in the city. At least two crashes occurred after police attempted to stop riders.
“We had an attempt to take over the city,” Howard said about the weekend enforcement against dirt bike riders. “It was a relatively safe interruption of this.”
Police officials said other initiatives would occur, including with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
