E-bikes and other micromobility devices are appearing across Metro Detroit’s roads, sidewalks, trails and public spaces, from pedal-assisted bikes and scooters to high-powered vehicles often marketed as e-bikes.
Why it matters: Communities across the region are cracking down on vehicles that were much less common when many trails, greenways and public spaces were originally designed.
State of play: Michigan law recognizes three classes of e-bikes, but not every electric two-wheeler is considered one.
- The result: Many residents who see an electric vehicle on a sidewalk, trail or bike path aren’t sure whether it’s allowed there.
What they’re saying: “The vast majority of the mobility devices causing confusion are unclassified e-bikes or e-motos,” Tim Novak, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ state trails coordinator, told Axios in an email.
- These are vehicles that may be marketed as e-bikes and look nearly identical, but exceed Michigan’s limits for motor power or speed.
Zoom in: The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy says it has noticed a significant increase in e-bikes, scooters and similar vehicles along the Riverwalk and greenways.
- The most common concern it hears isn’t about a specific type of vehicle, but people traveling too fast through crowded areas.
“When the Riverwalk and Dequindre Cut first opened, there weren’t e-bikes or motorized scooters like there are now,” conservancy spokesperson Marc Pasco wrote in an email to Axios. “We all need to learn to co-exist.”…