I have been working on a new re-write of the bicycling ordinance so it would allow electric devices with throttles to safely use the shared used recreational trail, this is what I came up with so far;
95.031 WHEELED VEHICLES
Wheeled vehicles in the parks and upon recreation trails shall abide by the ordinances governing the operation of such vehicles and need not be limited to paved areas. Trail Users shall operate their vehicles in a prudent manner and with due regard for the safety of others and the preservation of park property. Users must keep to the right on recreation trails unless passing someone. Vehicle operators will apply the “10-10 Rule” – wheeled vehicles are required to be traveling at less than 10mph when within 10 feet of pedestrians. Maximum speed on recreation trails is 18 MPH (29 KMH).
95.031.1 WHEELED VEHICLES
PROHIBITED ON RECREATION TRAIL.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, any licensed vehicle, any vehicle with side-by-side seating or any vehicle designed specifically for road usage. Vehicle limitation and trail user etiquette and speed limit signs will be posted at each entry point on the recreation trail. This section shall not apply to or limit authorized vehicles on the levees for maintenance, patrolling, and flood emergency purposes.
I am opposed to a speed limit, but I figured setting it at 18 would be the most logical since most E-Bikes are set at that max speed.
As I have discussed with several councilors and the Active Transportation Board, the real danger on the rec trail is speed and those who cannot ride safely because of the speed. Most people who are using electric assist devices like E2 bikes are usually in that 70 year old range and ride responsibly. In fact over the past week I have been counting bike commuters on the trail near 26th street. Over half of the bikes are E2s.
Even the owner of a local bike shop commented at the meeting if people are using these devices on the rec trail, what does that say about the safety of riding these devices on our roads.
Well, we didn’t get a very good rating recently in that department.
I’m not saying this will fix all the problems on the rec trail, but as the Parks Director pointed out at the meeting there hasn’t been any serious injuries on the bike trail in recent history. The current ordinance which restricts these devices has been on the books for 5 years, passed in the middle of winter, has never been noticed (until recently) and has never been enforced.
It is time to look at doing this differently, and the council is coming around. I do know that councilors Neitzert and Cole are working on a re-write that would lift restrictions and impose a speed limit.
I encourage you to email the entire council HERE and give them your feelings on the ordinance change. If you ride an E2 or different electric device let the council know why you ride it and why it is important to allow them on the rec trail.
While I have stopped riding my E2 on the rec trail, many others have NOT. Just today in a short one hour ride I saw ten E2s (all over the age of 70) an electric skateboard (he was over 50) and a one-wheel (teenager).
I couldn’t agree more. The FAB has put rules and restrictions on Class 2 and most micro mobility units.
I personally have observed many Class 2
bikes on the trail. I have seen riders at excessive speed, and they are bicyclists. The very industry that feeds the bike community is selling illegal bikes knowing that they are not allowed.I stopped into 3 different bike shops. When I asked if I could ride a Class 2 on the Rec. trail, I was told”Just be courteous and you’ll be OK “No one is being ticketed for
Speeding or Class 2 violations but The Advanced Transportation Board want to ban Scooters, One Wheels, E-Skateboards. There is a $500 dollar rolling fine (it adds up $500 every day) for violations.
Plus a possible 30 days in jail.
As taxpayers, we have every right to the Recreation Trail. It is not a bike trail as much as FAB wants it to be.
The 2023 bike plan say that it wants to increase trail usage 50%. The NSC estimates that 462 people will die over the 4th in car, bike, pedestrian crashes.
FAB insists on everyone SHARE THE ROAD.
But, it look to me that FAB doesn’t want to share the Recreation Trail.
Next Active Transportation Board meeting is July19, 8:30am at Old City Hall. I call on all micro mobility riders to be there with solutions not complaints.
Thanks Mark for sharing, share this post on Facebook and with friends and encourage them to email the council.
It’s like being the big fish in the pond. You take E-Bikes off the roads and onto the bike trail, then they become the predator and no longer the prey.
Are E-Bikes a fade? Hopefully, but if not, then they will destroy the bike trail as we know it if we allow them to prevail on the trail. It really comes down to who you want to prevail, on the trail. #TheAreLikeAsianCarp
VSG, you are right about 90% of the time, but you are completely off the rails on this one. I follow the latest technologies and brands of new e-bikes. It is one of the fastest growing and technologically advanced industries, and virtually impossible to keep up with when you start carving the ordinances out for E-Bikes. I suspect in 5 years it will be very expensive to buy a regular road bike and 80-90% of the market will be E-Bikes. You can get a solid, lightweight, E2 for $900 online which is about half the price of a decent road bike. The market is starting to gear itself to more affordable models that don’t even look like an E-Bike (so enforcement will be difficult).
You must create rules on the rec trail that apply to ALL users. The genie ain’t going back in the bottle. But this is the same state that thinks MJ is a dangerous drug so I’m sure some goody two-shoes will have a fit over being passed by an E-Bike going 17 MPH. It’s here, so let’s deal with it in a responsible manner instead of ignoring the inevitable.
What’s the difference between E-Bikes and Mopeds? Why have Mopeds never been legal on the trail? A Tesla is a car even if it doesn’t have a combustible engine.
I agree the genie is out of the bottle, or will be soon. But all we need is some enforcement on the trail to solve that one.
As far as MJ, well, the left is wrong about MJ the way the right is wrong about guns.
Cheap E-Bikes are most likely not UL, which is a hazard to us all beyond the trail.
Hopefully, this is all just a fade because it’s changing the trail and letting people think they are getting their maximum exercise, when they are not. The Lance Armstrong wannabes used to be a hazard on the trail, too, but they are not as prevalent as they once were and hopefully E-Bikes will pass in time as well.
AND, what about my 1970 Honda 50cc minibike, can I take that for a legal spin on the trail as well? It only goes 25 mph, so why not?
“Wasn’t it Barney Fife who said that if you give them 45, then they’ll want 55?”
Our Mayor doesn’t like the term affordable housing. He prefers accessible housing. So, what if we called the bike trail, not the recreational trail, but rather the motorway? Or, would that be too British?
Hell, why not if cops can use bicycles in Sturgis?….:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1DKpZE02qA
Wasn’t a problem until you got caught on your electric Harley. Tisk tisk
Yeah, the SFPD’s knee jerk reaction to an article and a picture was pretty funny. I do know someone who has a Harley E-Bike, he got it to lose weight. I set mine on a 1 or 2 setting which only helps me up hills and in strong wind, otherwise I am peddling just as much as anyone else. I told someone recently, ‘I lost 70 pounds riding my E2 bike because the seat has a heating element in it that burns fat. There is so much misinformation out there about E-Bikes that is doesn’t surprise me people make crap up.
A little confused. Not to long ago this site was advocating peddle bikes on streets with motor cars along side them. Now this site wants motorized bikes on the peddle bike trails long with walkers. When is it time to stop the insanity?
Once again, another person spouting off about bicycle commuting who knows nothing about it. I have been riding bikes in Sioux Falls since 1993. I always take the shortest distance possible, sometimes that is a sidewalk, sometimes the bike trail and sometimes a road. As I have said before, I can turn off my bike and it rides like a normal bicycle. I can put it in setting one, which won’t let me go faster then 10 MPH or setting 2 which is 14 MPH or setting 3 which is 18 MPH, or I can go 5-9 and ride 35 MPH on the street. That is what is so great about E-Bikes. You can ride them safely anywhere as long as you monitor speed.
Our roads are dangerous. I have at least 1-2 close calls every time I ride to work. Our street system is built like a speedway.
There is a reason why we ended up in the 51st percentile with biking, because this town is set up for cars and little else. Have you even seen the sidewalks on major arterials in Sioux Falls. Horrible. The main reason why myself and other E-Bikers take the trail is because we are worried about safety also, wrap your tiny brain around that.
What about hitch-hiking to work? Is that an option in this fine city, or would they just confuse any of us for a panhandler?
Actually, my tiny little brain is wrapped around this pretty well. Motorized vehicles are dangerous to peddle bikes on the street. Wonder why motorized bicycles are not hazardous on the bike path. Oris my little brain not capable of understanding? I m pretty sure what 13 wizs answer will be. But I and a lot of people will chuckle at it anyway.
Mike, before I respond, do you own an E-Bike, or have you rode one on vacation? Once you can say YES to that question I will continue. I’m sure your answer is no, and if it is, please go back to whatever you do, because your attempt at trolling is cracking me up.
Tiny little Brain and now a troll. Just pointing out some facts from this blog that was stated before
On here. Apologize that now I am a tiny little brained troll.
Mike, how many serious accidents have occurred in the past 5 years due to E-Bikes on the rec trail? ZERO. How many peds and bicyclists have died on our streets in same amount of time? Too many to count. I’m not sure why you think it is funny that our streets are unsafe for bicyclists, but you seem to be concerned that I may pass a walker with my E-Bike on the rec trail. Sounds like something a troll with a tiny brain would point out. Bicyclists dying on our streets doesn’t seem to concern you, but if I blow a whisk of air while I am passing a ped on the rec trail I am all of a sudden a danger. LOL. I would love to watch you tell 70 year olds on the trail that are riding E2s, safely, that they are dangerous. They would probably bitch slap you. As a councilor said to me recently, ‘To get even a basic accomodation on roads and everything else is like moving heaven and earth.’ We have built this town to be car centric, and it will be nearly impossible to put that genie back in the bottle, BUT we can find ways to safely commute on a bike. In fact bikes were invented 69 years before the automobile.
The largest threat on the recreation trail are MAMILs, singularly focused on completing their circuits on the trail. They don’t break speed for any circumstance.
There are electric TukTuk’s (scooters) in Thailand. Comes a point in time when bike trails will become principle transportation routes. They’ll be widened with center stripe. Also, stop signs and speed limits. Just get me my pizza in 30 minutes or less!
There’s the Veterans Highway, 229 and other corresponding interstates, and the bike trail loop. Think of them all as a part of a centrifugal force, which should have links to each other with complicated rotaries or roundabouts, then think of trying it all while on acid, but be careful if you find yourself doing some speed.
How much does your class 2 (electric motorcycle) weigh?