By Rich Pollack
Highland Beach has put the brakes on plans to ban electric bikes and other battery-operated vehicles from its 3-mile-long walking path on State Road A1A after learning that any such moves would have to be blessed by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Further knocking the town off balance is a proposed Palm Beach County ordinance that could be implemented throughout the entire county regulating the vehicles.
Highland Beach town leaders, led largely by Vice Mayor David Stern, have expressed concerns about electric bikes and other electric vehicles on the walking path, which is popular among walkers and people on non-motorized bicycles.
In response, Town Attorney Len Rubin drafted an ordinance prohibiting motorized scooters, e-bikes and other motor vehicles from being operated on the path, but he said it would be difficult to enforce without FDOT’s consent.
“The town could not enforce the ordinance or erect any signage warning operators of the prohibition without the approval and consent of FDOT,” he wrote.
Town Manager Marshall Labadie said the town will reach out to FDOT officials to see if it is possible to implement the ordinance on the walking path.
Rubin said that even a proposed county ordinance being circulated would most likely need FDOT approval if it was to be enforced on FDOT rights-of-way.
Regarding the electric vehicles, the draft of the county ordinance requires “operation with due care and prudence, having regard for pedestrian activity, traffic conditions, visibility and other attendant circumstances that does not endanger the safety of persons or property.”
It would also prohibit operation on sidewalks and shared-use paths within designated commercial or high pedestrian areas and would allow the designation of zones where electric vehicles are prohibited.
While that ordinance could be applied countywide, Rubin said that municipalities would have the ability to not adopt it.
Already several area municipalities have been considering ordinances regulating electric vehicles on sidewalks. Boynton Beach has discussed a proposed ordinance, but not adopted it, and staff in Delray Beach is doing research into possible regulation. Boca Raton relies on state law and prohibits e-motorcycles on sidewalks.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a proposed new state law that would have required e-bikes to go no faster than 10 miles per hour on sidewalks or pedestrian areas if a pedestrian is within 50 feet. The law also would have required those on e-vehicles to provide an audible warning, such as a bell, before passing a pedestrian on a shared-use path or park trail.
The law, that was passed unanimously by both houses of the legislature, would have also required riders under 16 to wear a properly fitted helmet.
In vetoing the bill, the governor said that it would be difficult for e-bicycles to measure their speed while safely operating the vehicle.
DeSantis also said that the new law would eventually lead to more public surveillance through radar or other devices.
“Certainly, I don’t want to anything that’s going to lead to more surveillance,” he said during a news conference on June 26.
In Florida, the legislature can override a veto with two thirds of members present in each house voting in favor. It is likely, however, the vote would have to come at the end of the next legislative session in 2027.
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