As I understand it they will be discussing allowing E2s on the bike trail. Many on the committee are on the fence so advocates of E2s showing up and discussing the topic would be great.
5:30 PM, City Administration Building, Main Floor, Cooper Room.
A gentleman came forward to the council meeting tonight during public input (FF 40:00) and was surprised that he was told not to ride his newly purchased E2 Bike on the trail.
He found it ironic because he got a warning from a motorcycle cop.
UPDATE: Someone who spoke to the gentleman before his testimony, said he wasn’t even riding his bike on the rec trail but was SITTING next to it on a park bench when the officer gave him the warning. I guess it is easier to give out citations to people who are not moving 🙂
I also found it funny that the mayor tried to correct this first time inputer by telling him there is a speed limit on the trail. THERE IS NOT! No where in city ordinance is there a speed limit on the rec trail, there are also NO posted signs except one on the 41st street bridge that has been there for over 30 years.
UPDATE: I have also been informed that the rec trail does have a 20 MPH, but it is NOT posted and is just a ‘parks policy‘. Would love for someone to pay me to try to find this policy on the city website, it could get expensive.
Once again the mayor has NO CLUE what is actually in statute.
I heard from a city official tonight that they will be moving forward within the next couple of weeks on a change to the E2 restrictions (and other adjustments).
UPDATE: The bicycle ordinances on the bike trail are a prime example of the lack of transparency in our government. They post NO signs telling people about rec trail restrictions (vehicle, speed or otherwise) and expect people to just pull up their city hall crystal ball and know these things. Government runs more efficiently based on transparency, not tongue and cheek suggestions based on limited information.
I saw the above bike DTSF this past weekend so I inquired about it from a city official. The city bought 2 but not sure what they paid (they retail on other sites for about $4K without all the whizz-bang cop extras). A bike in this class should run you about $2,500 without police sirens.
The bikes come in 750 or 1000 watt, the city chose the 750 which I would assume would give you a longer charge because you are using less power. I would have just went with the 1000 watt to have that extra power and bought backup batteries for the bikes so you have a spare charged, you can even rig bikes with dual batteries.
It is pretty obvious to me this company uses ‘bike cop’ mantra to sell these units, but they are really no different then a regular E2.
With all the sustainability boloney floating around you would have thought the city would have had a big presser about the bikes . . . oh that’s right, you look pretty foolish telling people they can’t ride their E2s on the trail when you are riding your E2 on the trail (for the record I have only seen the bike on the street).
Obviously this is NYC and the traffic can be a little congested, BUT, if you are South of 41st street during rush hour, the street traffic is actually worse then NYC because of people’s speeds. But he makes a good point, where is it safe to ride a bike?
REI is proposing a Federal E-Bike rebate program, which I support. Some have said that this is a waste but when you figure there are similar rebates for electric cars, this makes sense;
If 15% of today’s carbon-emitting car trips were made by electric bicycles (e-bikes), America’s carbon emissions would shrink by more than 11 percent.
That’s because in addition to providing safe and convenient ways to get from place to place, battery-powered e-bikes displace carbon emissions from vehicles and lower pollution levels. E-bikes are increasingly popular for people looking to commute to work, run errands, or enjoy the outdoors without needing a car. But we need to make sure more people – of all income levels – can access and enjoy this form of low-carbon transport.
The E-BIKE (Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment) Act would offer a 30 percent tax credit of up to $1500 on the purchase of new e-bikes. It’s time to build support for this exciting new bill that can make climate-friendly transport more affordable for everyone.
It has often amazed me that we don’t give tax credits to people who are trying to improve the environment but turn around and give people child tax credits (which are actually contributing to pollution). We should tax the HELL out of gasoline and turn those dollars into ways to help people commute sustainably.
And for the record, South Dakota gets over 80% of it’s electricity from renewables, so plugging in, in South Dakota is actually carbon friendly.
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).
l3wis