It sounds like they need ebike speed limits
Why limit it to ebikes? My unpowered bike loaded up can weigh 50-60 lbs and on a flat I can easily get to ebike speeds. Riders of all kinds should just be courteous to pedestrians no matter where they are. I ride my ebike on common use paths at like 8 mph when there are people or get off and walk if there’s a dense crowd I can’t ride around.
Going 20+ mph where there are pedestrians is just asking for trouble.
Yeah, I drop down to like 8-12 at the fastest and dismount if there’s a crowd.
This is becoming a worrying problem. But it’s hardly a surprise given that you can now buy electric “bikes” that weigh more than motorbikes once did and basically have pedals as decoration.
I glued pedals to the side of my car so I can off-road on sidewalks.
Top comment by [Noah Mayer]
Liked by 5 people
Can’t acoustic bikes also reach 20-30 mph? I know it’s easier to reach those speeds on an ebike, but is it truly not an issue with regular bikes? To me, it just seems to unfairly target ebikes when regular bikes can also reach high speeds.
Unless someone is flat out sprinting, those speeds on a regular bike would not be easy achieve by a regular person in a crowded park.
That said, this is going to be a case of “a few will spoil it for the many”.
Without electric options, the city would be hurting accessibility, so that would be bad.
Sigh. I don’t know. Fine people being dangerous? Publicly shame them for riding like an asshole? I would try anything before removing micromobility from a public space.
I think this is another problem where having an absolutely shitty police institution takes options off the table.
Like we could try to have speed limits and enforce it, but I’m very confident the NYPD would just use it to bother black people.
Anyway. A speed limit is probably better than a total ban imo, even if enforcement is going to be a problem. Just posting the limit will make some people behave.
RIP the older and disabled :p
Citizen arrest… I arrested this hooligan on a scooter going exactly 2.71356mph faster than indicated on the weekly Instagram post! Just because this teen has no legs doesn’t mean she can just go riding around on a 300lbf scooter with 36psia nitrogen filled tires. It even has a dehydrogenoxyde storage tank for got knows what! We discovered another reservoir like that with strange smelly liquidous stuff in it. And we know she’s a Pisces and non American because her sign was on the reservoir in another language… “Feces”. Can’t fool us!
