By Mike Dunn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia city officials are looking to impose, for the first time, penalties for the use of all-terrain vehicles (“ATVs”) on sidewalks.

City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown says it has become a dubious rite of spring in Philadelphia: kids on all-terrain vehicles running wild.

“Typically we always see an uptick with ATVs in the spring of every year, and during the summer, in highly populated neighborhoods,” she said today. “And the operative word is ‘neighborhoods’ — where our children are playing. That’s a problem.”

So, Reynolds Brown is backing a plan from the Nutter administration to impose penalties for ATV use on properties controlled by the city, including the sidewalks.

The first-time fine would be stiff — $2,000 and possible forfeiture of the vehicle.

Current state law governs city streets, and the state already imposes fines up to $300 for ATV use on roadways.

If approved by City Council, Reynolds Brown believes the sidewalk fines would be a sufficient deterrent to keep the ATVs off the streets.

The plan will now be debated in a Council committee.