County Overhauls Park Rules in New Ordinance

Tobacco, e-bikes and hoverboards are among the items subject to updated regulations under a new ordinance overhauling rules in Bucks County-owned public parks.

Enacted Jan. 18 by a unanimous vote of the county Board of Commissioners, Ordinance No. 170 “protects the wellbeing of all of our park users, our park property, our natural resources and our wildlife,” said Parks and Recreation Executive Director Angela Nagle.

The new slate of rules takes effect Feb. 1. Updated signage will be placed throughout the parks alerting visitors to the updates.

Under the new ordinance, the use of tobacco products including electronic cigarettes is prohibited within 50 feet of playgrounds as well as recreational fields and facilities within the county’s parks.

The ordinance also includes rules governing the use of bicycles with electric motors, or e-bikes, which in large part are treated the same under the ordinance as a traditional bicycle. The new e-bike rules mirror the policy recently adopted for PA State Parks and Forests by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Use of hoverboards or similar personal transporters that do not have handlebars within county parks is now prohibited without a permit under a provision restricting “self-balancing electric mobility devices.”

The ordinance, the full text of which can be read here, is the first major revision to park rules since the late 1990s.

Learn more about the county parks system at buckscounty.gov/parks.