Casting aside deep differences, moped dealers and their politically active opponents formally agreed yesterday to implement a nine-point plan aimed at one goal - reducing injuries to moped riders.
Oak Bluffs selectman Todd Rebello this week all but admitted that town officials have done a lousy job making moped dealers abide by town regulations, and selectmen agreed Tuesday night to improve local enforcement.
Just five days after a moped accident in Oak Bluffs killed a
Virginia woman, another accident yesterday in Edgartown has left
a 60-year-old moped rider from Florida in critical condition
with severe head injuries.
Two middle school teachers from Florida, Judy and Barnard Lorence, should be back in their classrooms getting ready for a new school year, but there's no chance of that now.
Convinced there's no way to make rental mopeds safe on the Vineyard, Oak Bluffs selectmen this week threw their support behind proposed state legislation that would require anyone renting a moped to have a motorcycle license.
Oak Bluffs had fewer mopeds and fewer dealers renting them this year. Now the hospital is reporting fewer people ending up in the emergency room after crashing a moped.
Voters in Oak Bluffs could put a significant dent in the number of mopeds rented in their town if they back a tough proposal put forth by selectmen. At a special town meeting on June 18, residents will be asked to approve a bylaw that would cut down the number of moped dealer licenses issued each year from seven to five.
Promising to show moped dealers no mercy this summer, Oak Bluffs selectmen have begun to toughen up moped bylaws, adding new language that will increase licensing fees, set higher penalties for violations and establish a minimum height limit for child passengers.
Here's the trade. A moped dealer who controls two rental outlets in Oak Bluffs is offering to shut down one moped shop. In exchange, he wants town officials to hand him a liquor license and a sewer permit for a new restaurant near the harbor.
