A man rides his e-bike on a State Road A1A sidewalk in Delray Beach. A proposed state law would limit speeds on sidewalks if pedestrians are nearby. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Rich Pollack
Florida’s laws governing new methods of transportation have been moving slower than a 3-year-old on a tricycle as the number of electric bikes on roads, bicycle paths and sidewalks throughout South Florida and elsewhere in the state continues to explode.
“The technology has gotten ahead of us,” said state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman (R- Highland Beach), pointing out that there are now several types of e-bikes, electric scooters and e-skateboards. “It used to be just cars, trucks and motorcycles.”
With the Florida Legislature now in session, lawmakers are hoping to finally address e-bikes on a statewide basis, with a bill that Gossett-Seidman co-sponsored wheeling its way through the legislative process.
The current version requires the creation of a state task force to study the issues surrounding e-bikes and make recommendations. The bill, which is still a work in progress, also requires the state to improve the processes used to collect data regarding e-bike crashes.
Another provision in the bill — and one that will have the most impact on pedestrians and bicyclists in the area — requires the rider of an e-bike to slow to 10 miles per hour when within 50 feet of a pedestrian on a sidewalk or pedestrian path.
“It’s about time,” said Emily Gentile, president of the Beach Condo Association of Boca Raton, Highland Beach and Delray Beach. “It will help the pedestrians quite a bit.”
Gentile said that quick-moving e-bikes make it difficult for some pedestrians, especially older walkers, to step aside.
“People are complaining that they’re riding on the sidewalks and scaring the heck out of them,” she said.
Gentile said that while the proposed legislation is welcome, she believes the key to its effectiveness will be enforcement.
She’s not alone.
“It’s a wonderful start, but how are they going to enforce it?” asked Rich Garrett, president of the Florida Bicycle Association, who would like to see the legislation go even further.
He would like to see a 10-mph speed limit on e-bikes on sidewalks all the time.
Garrett believes that the number of crashes involving e-bikes has been significantly under-reported, an issue that the proposed legislation addresses to some degree.
The legislation would require law enforcement agencies to report the date and time of the crash, the class of e-bike involved — there are three classes based on maximum speed and whether it has a throttle — the age of the rider and whether that rider has a license or permit.
An earlier version of the bill would have required e-bikes capable of going faster than 29 mph to be classified as e-motorcycles and require operators to have a license or permit.
That provision was withdrawn in committee, Gossett-Seidman said, because lawmakers wanted more data.
“We don’t want to pass a law that’s not fully researched and doesn’t take into account all the different counties,” she said. “Some areas like Boca have many electric bikes and others have hardly any.”
The task force that would be created should help provide the data lawmakers need, she said.
While Garrett supports the legislation in its proposed form, he is a strong advocate for education and would like to see all e-bikers required to take an education class.
“They should all have to know the rules of the road,” he said.
In addition, he believes the weight of an e-bike should be a consideration in legislation.
Garrett said he would like to see the Florida Bicycle Association have a seat on the task force that would be created under the proposed legislation.
Safety is a key concern for Garrett and for Gossett-Seidman, who says that legislators have to find a balance between that and the transportation needs of e-bike riders.
“One of our goals is getting them where they need to go in a safe fashion,” she said.
While the Florida House bill and a similar bill in the Florida Senate would apply statewide, local municipalities are able to pass ordinances and rules governing e-bicycles.
Boynton Beach, for example, is considering an ordinance that would prohibit electric vehicles from being used on any public sidewalk.
In Boca Raton e-bike users are required to follow the rules of the road and keep right, when possible.
Gossett-Seidman says she is sure that some statewide regulation on e-bikes will come out of the legislative session.
“We’re going to apply the most common sense possible and make the most people safe and happy,” she said.
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