The town of Hull is considering restricting bike and pedestrian use on some of its roads, a measure one advocacy group says is illegal.

A town public safety committee, which examined general safety on town roads this summer, came up with a draft ordinance in September that requires biking, running or walking groups to register their travel plans with the town or bans them from using roads outright.

The ordinance is in response to what town officials say is a growing problem with road safety, but local groups are concerned about the impact on biking and running in the town.

Kevin Luecke, who is with the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation, contends parts of the proposed ordinance violate state law, which says bicycles are considered vehicles and must follow the same rules of the road.

He said in an email the advocacy group has expressed its concern to Hull leaders, and suggested officials focus instead on educating all users of the road on safety.

Luecke said he wasn't aware of any other bans on bicycles in the state.
The proposed ordinance seems to go against data that show few accidents on town roads.

According to data from Portage County's Planning, Zoning and Land Conservation Department, in the past 10 years, the almost 32-square-mile town has had five pedestrian-car crashes, and one bike-car crash. The town hasn't had a crash involving a bike or pedestrian since 2008.

But town Chairman John Holdridge said there is anecdotal evidence to consider, too. He said the town gets a lot of complaints about groups of people running down the middle of the road at night or taking up most of the road during the day, or bikers riding on the wrong side of the road.

He said roads such as Old Highway 18 and North Reserve Street might be too dangerous for bike traffic because of traffic volume and lack of shoulders.

If enacted, the ordinance could be tough to enforce. Portage County Chief Deputy Dan Kontos said the Sheriff's Department, which patrols the town of Hull, can only enforce state and county laws.

Any laws specific to Hull would have to be contracted with the county for a fee or would have to be enforced by the town itself.