Sanibel city leaders discussing use of e-bikes on island

Author: Jillian Haggerty
Published: Updated:

What if you could tour Sanibel Island without breaking a sweat? City leaders are discussing using e-bikes on the island paths.

The big change would allow e-bikes that don’t require pedaling.

The change would offer tourists a new attraction to an island deep in recovery.

The Sanibel city council unanimously approved moving the draft ordinance forward to a first reading next month to explore using class two e-bikes on shared use paths and potential speed limits.

The main issue with using the class two e-bikes was lowering the age limit from 18 to 16.

“And 16. A lot of people don’t even have their licenses at that point. I’m just going to say that’s a concern,” a council member said.

And if the class one bike was allowed back in 2019, should the class two bike be allowed?

“Class one is a peddle-assisted electric bike that has a max speed of 20 mph, and that is what is currently allowed to be used on the shared use path on Sanibel. Class two bikes are peddle assisted but also have an independent throttle with a max speed of 20 mph,” said Eric Jackson, the PIO of Sanibel.

Council brought up that as technology changes, more people are buying these motorized bikes.

“It may require some additional adjustments as we get forward and as we learn from this, but one of the things we need to do from this is amp up our education and make sure we do everything we can do there so we can set that expectation of behavior on the shared use path,” said the mayor of Sanibel, Richard Johnson.

We asked someone visiting the island who rented a traditional bike if they would want to see the e-bike in the future.

“I feel like sometimes it is hard peddling, especially in long distances, but e-bikes are just something fun to do as well,” said Camden Ross, who is vacationing in Sanibel.

He said he would definitely use it next time he comes if it is approved.

These changes won’t take effect until it makes it through a second reading, which most likely won’t happen until September.

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