Fort Myers Beach Council moves forward with allowing electric bikes on sidewalks
At the eighth hour of their meeting Monday, the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council voted unanimously to move forward an ordinance that would reverse a ban passed by a previous council on electric bikes on sidewalks.
The new ordinance, which still requires a second public hearing, will limit the speed of electric bikes on sidewalks to 10 miles per hour. How that will be enforced is still being worked out. The current measure would allow law enforcement to issue warnings and potentially citations.
The new ordinance amends a 2018 ordinance approved by a former town council which prohibited electric bikes on sidewalks due to safety concerns involving pedestrians.
The measure is controversial in a town where pedestrians are often startled by electric bikes that can pass by within inches without any warning. There was also a recent incident of an accident involving an electric bike on a sidewalk that did not involve pedestrians.
The new ordinance would require bicyclists on electric bikes to yield to the right of way of pedestrians, give an audible signal before passing a pedestrian on the sidewalk, and to slow down to idle speed (the lowest speed to which a bike can operate at about one to three miles per hour) if they approach pedestrians on the sidewalk. The new proposed language of the new ordinance also states that electric bikes are not permitted on the sidewalk if they endanger the lives of pedestrians.
Bicyclists would also be required to operate on the same side of the street and sidewalk and in the same direction as motor vehicles.
The town’s Public Safety Committee, an advisory committee to the town council, voted two weeks earlier to call on the town council to reverse the 2018 ordinance that bans electric bikes on sidewalks. The committee also voiced support at the meeting for banning Lee County’s free seasonal tram shuttle service for the public from the town.
Lee County owns Estero Boulevard, which is where the trams travel.
The county’s ownership of the town’s main road also led to questions at Monday’s town council meeting as to whether the town needs the county’s approval or permission to restrict the electric bikes and enforce the ordinance on the sidewalks. Town counsel Nancy Stuparich said that would be worked out before the second reading and hearing of the ordinance, which will be held
Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said “I would normally not be a big fan of this because of the pedestrians on the sidewalks but the traffic is so horrific. Desperate times require desperate measures.”
Atterholt said the town “should at least give this a try.”
Atterholt said bicyclists are being yelled at. “There is a situation now where people are yelling at people on a bike or electric bike because people think that is illegal,” he said.
Councilmember John King said he likes that the new ordinance will allow code enforcement officers to issue citations. He would like the new ordinance to be a trial and re-evaluated in a year or so.
Councilmember Scott Safford said his question is “what a fine is going to be.” Safford said the fines should show “we are serious.”
Safford said “the higher the ticket is, the better this whole thing will work.”
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers asked Safford how much he wants the fines to be.
The current ordinance calls for fines of $50 for violators.
Safford said “50 dollars doesn’t seem very high to me.”
Atterholt said “we have to think about what we are fighting for.”
Atterholt said somebody going 15 miles per hour in August when the streets are empty is not as serious as somebody passing an elderly couple and their dog.
Safford said he didn’t want to issue “exorbitant fines” for those who go 12 miles per hour but wanted it to be enough to deter “recklessness” and threats to public safety.
Fort Myers Beach Compliance and Operations Director Frankie Kropacek said he believes the issue is not with those on the island most of the time, but those who are vacationing or visiting. Kropacek said if there is an accident, enforcement of a citation would need to be handled by Lee County Sheriff’s Office. That wouldn’t be an issue the town’s code enforcement could handle, he said. Kropacek said the town could issues citations for violating the ordinance.
Atterholt asked Kropacek if enforcement officers would be able to use discretion as to when to issue a warning and when to issue a violation.
Allers said by the time code enforcement or law enforcement was able to respond to a violation, that person “would be long gone.”
Stuparich said the town council and staff could return to the next council meeting and iron out more details ahead of the next public hearing.
Councilmember Karen Woodson said signage is the key for her. Allers said the town would require approval from Lee County.
During public comment, the microphones for the public stopped working.
A date for when the second reading or hearing was not immediately announced.
A poll of Fort Myers Beach Observer readers last month found that 60% of respondents wanted to continue the ban on electric bikes on sidewalks.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com