Fort Myers Beach ordinance banning electric bikes on sidewalks still in effect, official says, days after they were declared to be ‘OK’

If you have walked down the sidewalks of Fort Myers Beach downtown a time or two, chances are you have heard that whizzing sound as an electric bike speeds by you – sometimes within inches.

An ordinance has been in place since 2018 in the Town of Fort Myers Beach prohibiting electric bikes from its sidewalks though according to town officials the ordinance was no longer being enforced as of last week.

“As of now, the E-bikes are OK on the sidewalks,” said Thomas Yozzo, the town’s operations and compliance manager for neighborhood services, at a meeting of the Public Safety Committee this past week. “We are asking people to go with the flow of traffic.”

On Thursday, a day after the Fort Myers Beach Observer reported on the statement, the town issued a statement through spokesperson Nicole Berzin stating that “the ordinance will continue to be enforced by the Towns Neighborhood Services Rangers as written. Per the guidance of Town Council, the Public Safety Committee is to discuss any potential changes and bring their recommendations back to Council for approval.”

On Monday, Berzin responded to questions posed by the Fort Myers Beach Observer to Town Manager Andy Hyatt about the electric bikes on the sidewalk and the ordinance that prohibits them, by saying “the electric bike ordinance is still under review.” Berzin did not respond to follow-up questions about why a review was underway.

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers had proposed last May to make a change to the town’s ordinance to allow electric bikes on the sidewalks and on the beach though there was some pushback from some councilmembers including Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt as well as from Turtle Time to the idea by Allers of allowing the electric bikes on the sidewalks and beach due to safety concerns. The town also has an ordinance that prohibits any motorized vehicles on the beach.

The proposed changes to the electric bike ordinance had not been raised again at town council meetings since last year and no official actions by the town council were ever taken though apparently there has been a look-the-other-way attitude toward the electric bikes on the sidewalks.

Allers, who is the town council’s liaison to the Public Safety Committee, did not attend the committee’s last meeting where the subject was discussed due to a doctor’s appointment, he said. “I do not know what was said,” Allers said in an email late Tuesday afternoon. Allers did not respond to follow-up questions regarding electric bikes on the sidewalks and his past support for lifting restrictions on them on sidewalks and the beach.

Fort Myers Beach Public Safety Committee Chair Dawn Thomas said she is proposing a “vague” joint sidewalk and bike proposal that she has forwarded to Yozzo which would potentially create room for pedestrians and bikers to share the sidewalk.

Thomas said she is concerned that bikers are going in both directions on the sidewalks.

“I understand that people want to ride their bikes to make it up the island faster and to say no electric, but regular bikes are OK,” Thomas said. “It is too hard to monitor. I do think we need to come up with a solution for Red Coconut North to Time’s Square – where there is not a bike path. There have been some great ideas put forth lately.”

Thomas said she supports allowing electric bikes on sidewalks.

“I think we need to allow them but also it’s an issue where the pedestrian count is high, it is too hard to have both on the sidewalk, so we need to think about doing something,” Thomas said. “We are looking at solutions for this especially when we get busy for season.”

Yozzo said he expects Lee County to have to do work at some point on Estero Boulvard’s sidewalks due to the damage from the hurricanes. Lee County owns Estero Boulevard and its sidewalks. Yozzo said he has forwarded the proposal by Thomas to town management and said the town council would have to address it.

Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt, who has previously proposed a compromise for electric bikes on the sidewalks which would require bikers to stop and walk their bike if they encounter pedestrian traffic or to stop and warn a pedestrian before passing them, said any new proposal should include protections for pedestrians.

“If there is going to be a change in the ordinance, I would like to make sure the new language includes safeguards for those who use the sidewalks for walking,” Atterholt said.

Some electric bikes can go up to 28 miles an hour and can sometimes startle pedestrians.

The town’s 2018 electric bike ordinance requires all bikes to have lights and bells on them so that pedestrians can know when they are approaching. The 2018 ordinance also puts bicycle shops in town on the hook for compliance with the town’s ordinance.

The 2018 ordinance calls for a warning on a first offense of the ordinance and fines of up to $50 on subsequent offenses. The ordinance also requires that bicyclists 16 or younger wear helmets.