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City should listen to mayor, regulate behavior, not E-bikes

City should take the mayor’s advice and regulate behavior, not particular bikes

The Durango City Council chose, earlier this month, to revisit its ban on electric bicycles on city trails. The idea of further studying the issue came up after hearing from seniors who find the power assist helpful.

The city should take this opportunity to apply some common sense without trying to be overly lawyerly. While the desire for a clear definition is understandable, the simple fact that a bike has a motor is not in itself a danger. No one is talking about Harley-Davidsons on the River Trail.

E-bikes were specifically added to the ban on motorized vehicles on city trails earlier this year out of concern for safety. And in the narrow context of that discussion that made sense. E-bikes are new and largely unfamiliar. There are different kinds and neither the variations nor their capabilities are widely understood.

On the other hand, the distinction between motorized and non-motorized is simple and clear.

That does not, however, make it necessary. The ban on motorized vehicles was likely enacted by officials concerned about people on motorcycles, go-karts or who-knows-what speeding down trails populated by parents and children on foot. It is unlikley they had in mind electric-assisted bicycles.

Many e-bikes are primarily powered by their riders, but with only an assist from the electric motor. And the rider must be pedalling for the motor to kick in. They reportedly top out at around 20 miles per hour. That is too fast to be travelling on the River Trail, but no faster than many riders can go on conventional bikes.

Why then is the motor the defining issue? A better approach, as Mayor Christina Rinderle has suggested, would be to focus on behavior rather than equipment. After all, if there is a collision between a bicylist and a pedestrian on the River Trail, we already know who should be written up – electric motor or not.

At current prices, the popularity of e-bikes is limited, with most probably ridden by seniors. Let them be. The city should not try to find a public safety issue where there is no evidence one exists.



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