Clarksburg (West Virginia) Police Department adds electric bicycles to fleet
by Logan Cottrell, Exponent Telegram, April 3, 2024
Photo: Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy checks out one of the new electric bicycles. Staff photo by Logan Cottrell
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Members of the public may be shocked to see the newest additions to the Clarksburg Police Department’s vehicle fleet.
Over the course of the past year, the Clarksburg Police Department has added two battery-powered electric bikes to its transportation arsenal. They will be used to patrol the downtown area and rail trails throughout the city.
“We actually received a small grant, and we decided to use some of the grant money to purchase these bikes,” said Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy. “We actually received the bikes in late fall-early winter, so we didn’t really get to use them that much. With springtime rolling around, they will be much more visible to the public.”
In total, the bikes cost around $4,000 each after getting all of the necessary equipment for them, according to Kiddy.
The bikes have been around since last year, said Mayor Jim Malfregeot.
“The entire process of getting them approved by the City Council took around one year to complete,” he said. “There was one of the electric bikes at the Christmas Parade last year downtown.”
The police department is still trying to figure out how to best utilize the new bikes, Kiddy said.
“For the most part, we are going to use them in the downtown area for patrols,” he said. “They are much more maneuverable instead of the regular cruiser. They are more mobile and allow us to have a quicker response time downtown.”
The downtown parks also will benefit from these bikes, Kiddy said.
“The rail trails scattered across the city will also be one of the areas they will be used,” he said. “Overall, it makes things much more accessible to our officers rather than being in the cruisers.”
These new bikes make it so much easier for our officers, Malfregeot said.
“Instead of driving a cruiser through downtown, the bikes are way easier to get from place-to-place, especially on the more narrow streets downtown,” he said. “For example, coming from Main Street to Pike Street is way easier on the bikes rather than the cruisers. With the bikes, they can just hop on them and head straight to Pike Street from Main Street.”
These bikes are huge for the police department, said Lt. Daniel Messenger.
“We have four officers trained to ride and patrol on these bikes,” he said. “Two on day shift, and then two on afternoon shift. These are a great addition to our fleet and I couldn’t be happier to have them.”