Metro

Bill for bike registration

A state lawmaker is trying to hit the brakes on rogue cyclists.

Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Queens) has introduced a bill that would mandate registration — much as for motor vehicles — for every bicycle in the state, complete with license plates hanging from the rear of the seats.

He also proposed a separate measure that would force every commercial cyclist in the state to carry identification and have insurance.

If the bill passes, the license plates would cost $25 in the first year and $5 each additional year for recreational cyclists.

Commercial cyclists — such as deliverymen — would pay $50 for the registration plus the cost of insurance.

He introduced the bills last week in response to the major expansion of bike lanes throughout the city under Mayor Bloomberg and city Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

A prominent biking advocate in the city – Paul Steely White of the nonprofit group Transportation Alternatives – said most messenger companies provide liability insurance for their cyclists.

White also trashed DenDekker’s licensing proposal.

“Don’t our leaders in Albany have more pressing problems than to create a bureaucratic morass for a simple and healthy activity?” White said. “This bill is scant on details. It reads more like a Tweet than legislation.”

White questioned how likely it is that the state Department of Motor Vehicles would effectively enforce this measure “without causing an expensive and time-consuming bureaucratic nightmare.”