City Sets New Speed Limits on Bicycles

July 25, 1899: "It shall be unlawful for any person to ride any bicycle, tricycle, velocipede or other riding machine or vehicle upon any public sidewalk within the corporate limits of this city or to ride any such vehicle within the corporate limits of the city at rate of speed greater than eight miles an hour." The speed limit for bicycles is 4 mph downtown when turning corners, going through intersections or passing anywhere that passengers might be getting on or off a streetcar.   The speed limit for horses and wagons is 6 mph and 4 mph when going through an intersection or turning a corner. All bicycles must be equipped with a bell, gong or whistle. "Policeman William Matuskiewiz will be placed on trial for his job before the Board of Police Commissioners this morning on charges of imbibing more alcoholic stimulants than is calculated to make a man comfortable and for having abused a number of prisoners as a result of his too close acquaintance with the cup that is sometimes supposed to cheer. The policeman made a spectacle of himself shortly after midnight on July 4 by arresting a house full of people because he thought they had stolen his purse and watch, when, in fact, no theft had been committed."

Comments

[Trolley Dodger]

I think I would like a gong on my bike. :)