PORT TOWNSEND — With Mayor Mark Welch swinging the City Council vote 4-3 Monday night against rescinding a controversial bicycle helmet requirement, the council instead voted unanimously to develop a comprehensive bicycle and motorist safety education program.

The safety education program is proposed to be devised by city staff in 60 to 90 days, at which time the council could choose whether the proposal goes before the city Public Safety committee or Public Transportation committee — or both.

The action came after more than an hour of debate, with Welch riding hard on bicycle and motorist education as being most important.

“I continue to not support a helmet law,” Welch said.

The mayor said he was concerned that the education program would not be developed expeditiously, and once that was done the council could then repeal the bike helmet law.

“I want to see something happen in a brief amount of time,” he said.

Original motion

Councilman Frank Benskin agreed with Welch, but Benskin’s original motion to postpone rescinding the helmet law until the city’s Public Safety Committee could address the matter failed.

“My motion is not a delaying tactic,” Benskin said. “I want to see something happen.”

That motion failed 4-3, with Welch joining Michelle Sandoval, Scott Walker and Catharine Robinson in opposition.

Sandoval, Walker and Robinson all supported rescinding the ordinance, agreeing that they saw no use in it being left on the books while an education program was devised.

“It was a bad law when it was passed last year,” Sandoval said, adding that it would remain bad if allowed to continue.