After extensive discussion following the second reading of the proposed Electric Bicycle and Certain Electric-powered Devices Ordinance Monday evening, the Valparaiso City Council carried the issue to its next meeting Aug. 10, when it will hold a public hearing on the issue.
Councilman Peter Anderson, R-5th, spearheaded the drafting of the proposed ordinance, which aims to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the public by establishing behavior-based regulations for the operation of e-bikes and certain electric-powered devices on public roadways, sidewalks, and shared-use paths within the city.
Main points of the proposed ordinance exempt mobility assistance devices such as electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, or other devices used by people with disabilities, require those under 16 to wear a helmet, and prohibit Class 3 e-bikes on all sidewalks and shared-use pathways, as well as trails within the city parks and public rights-of-way.
Class 3 e-bikes have pedal assist and throttle, and can reach a top speed of 28 miles per hour. Class 2 e-bikes also have pedal assist and throttle, but have a maximum speed of 20 mph, while Class 1 e-bikes have pedal assist only and a maximum speed of 20 mph.
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Operation between sunset and sunrise would require a white front lamp visible from at least 500 feet and a rear red reflector or lamp visible from at least 100 feet.
Class 1 and 2 e-bikes and personal mobility devices would be permitted on sidewalks except in the downtown area or where otherwise prohibited. Downtown is defined as Jefferson to Indiana (north to south), Morgan to Campbell (east to west) and all cross streets within that area.
Council Member Robert Cotton, D-2nd, took exception to allowing e-bikes and personal mobility devices on sidewalks, citing 31 deaths and dozens of fatalities attributed to the devices in the state, though he said not all were on sidewalks.
“Why do we have to comingle pedestrian with bicycle?” he asked. “That’s antithetical to wanting to keep the public safe.”
Council Member Barbara Domer, D-3rd, was also concerned. “Even 20 miles an hour, on the sidewalk, that’s fast when little kids are walking and riding their bikes, and people with strollers” are out, she said.
Councilman Jack Pupillo, R-4th, said on the flip side, we “don’t want to push them into the street.” He said the same argument against comingling could be made for cars and bicycles.
Cotton said that even those who voted yes to allow e-bikes in the city through an online questionnaire wanted to see many qualifications to the rules. “We have one of the highest circumstances of police needing to be everywhere, and I don’t know how they are going to patrol something like this, and we can’t even stop fireworks or golf carts,” he said.
Council Member Diana Reed, D-1st, said that comingling can be difficult in a city like Valparaiso that has a large pedestrian community, “but we have to set a standard because it’s here.” She said she was comfortable making adjustments to the proposed ordinance moving forward, “because, as you said, it’s not perfect.”
Mayor Jon Costas said a number of communities are grappling with e-bike safety. “The concern is not just the speed, but the mass,” he said of e-bikes being so much heavier than traditional bicycles, adding if an e-bike hit somebody, it would result in a “greater injury than a bicycle.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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