Sanibel City Council Considers E-Bike Restrictions

by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino

In May, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee was provided sample e-bike policies from other communities, a shared-use path incident report summary, and current e-bike and bike safety information from the City website. This information provided background and a basis for committee members to discuss the following six areas related to e-bikes:

1. Should the City continue to allow Class I e-bikes on the shared use path? (Answer: yes)

2. Should Class II and Class III e-bikes also be allowed on the paths?

3. Should e-scooters [electric personal assistive devices] be allowed on the shared use path? (Answer: no)

4. Should the Shared Use Path have speed limits knowing that speed limits could cause some cyclists to move to the roads creating other safety issues?

5. If yes, on speed limits in general, should different limits apply in different areas? (For example: 20 MPH on Sanibel Captiva Road, 15 MPH everywhere else) (Not applicable at this time)

6. Should the City continue the current requirement that e-bike riders have to be 18 years of age or older? (No consensus reached)

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee’s recommendations were then presented to City Council in June for review and discussion. Council came to consensus on items 1, 3, and 6 (see above), and concluded that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee should revisit items 2, 4, and 5 at its June 20, 2024 meeting and provide recommendations to City Council in July.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PARAC) presented its recommendations on items 2, 4, and 5 at City Council’s July 16 meeting. Not all of the recommendations were accepted by City Council. Here are the recommendations of the Committee:

Item 2 – The PARAC voted unanimously to recommend allowing Class II e-bikes on the shared-use paths but not to allow Class III e-bikes.

Item 4 – The PARAC voted unanimously to recommend not instituting speed limits at this time. The Committee is strongly in favor of prompt implementation of ‘courtesy campaigns’ and education efforts for all shared-use path users.

Item 5 – No consensus was reached on lowering the age requirement to 16 years of age.

Note that the PARAC voted unanimously to review the ordinance relative to e-bikes again in June 2025 to evaluate newly collected data, effectiveness of any new signage and in-person education efforts, as well as any additional emerging issues or concerns related to the shared-use paths.

These recommendations sparked considerable discussion among the City Council members, particularly related to the institution – or not – of speed limits. While the Committee wanted to focus on educating and managing behaviors, Council member John Henshaw was against even allowing Class 2 e-bikes on the paths without a speed limit. He asked Police Chief Dalton if an e- bike going 20 mph was safe on the paths. Without hesitation, Dalton answered, “No, not during season.”

One suggestion during the discussion was a 20 mph limit on Sanibel-Captiva Road, and a 15 mph limit everywhere else. A concern is that speed limits could “force” riders onto the road, which creates additional problems. But speed limits don’t have to force riders onto the road, according to Council member Laura DeBruce – they only serve to make them slow down.

City Council felt they did not have enough information, and a motion to advance the proposal by the Committee was not approved.

A second motion to advance the proposal as drafted but to instruct City staff to revise it with recommendations for different speed limits in different areas. This motion passed unanimously.