More Madison-area residents are riding electric bikes, scooters and similar devices – and being blamed for an increasing number of injuries and frustrations – but bicyclists and local planners hope to avoid bans that could create confusion and limit mobility.
They don’t want to see the kind of policies emerging in the Chicago suburbs, for example, where Glenview recently joined a list of communities limiting the so-called ‘micromobility’ devices, often over safety concerns. The village’s ban prohibits e-bikes and e-scooters from any public property, including sidewalks, streets and mixed-use paths.
In other parts of the country, the towns of Palm Beach and Key Biscayne in Florida now prohibit the devices, as do some Southern California communities, and the New Jersey Legislature passed legislation this week that requires a license, registration and insurance for all e-bikes…