I spent some time on Miami Beach Walk this week for the first time in a couple of years. It was interesting to see that the replacement of the old wooden boardwalk sections with pavers that I mentioned in an earlier post has now been completed.
I was especially delighted by the new signs forbidding motor vehicles on the path (see above). One could quibble with the English (what are “electric rides”?; the editor in me wants to substitute “vehicles” for “rides”). But the meaning of the signs is clear, and they appear to have been somewhat effective. In the course of a six-mile walk, I saw only three or four violators.
I know my thoughts on this subject will seem crabby to some, but it’s my sense that it’s quite dangerous to allow personal mobility devices with electric motors to be used in spaces that are supposed to be exclusively for people moving under their own power. Scooter and e-bicycle riders typically move at a higher speed than all but the fastest traditional cyclists, and riders of motorized unicycles and even many scooters can’t stop quickly. It’s also aesthetically distasteful when motorized vehicles enter pedestrian/bicycling spaces—especially crowded ones like Miami Beach Walk. When you’re in one of the few places in an American city where motor vehicles are banned, who wants to have to dodge scooters? They just degrade the environment. From my perhaps eccentric point-of-view, it would be wonderful if all the world’s recreational paths installed signs like those on Miami Beach Walk—and enforced them.
Note added 23 December 2022. I found myself on Miami Beach Walk this week and was, well, amused to discover that the authorities have been adding new signs with language that’s perhaps a bit less snappy than on the old signs but a little more likely to please a fussy editor. The prohibition on using non-human-powered transport modes is currently phrased: “No motorized means of transportation.”
Unfortunately, there seemed to be more violators than there were ten months ago. Scooter and e-bike riders were using the Walk with impunity, typically riding as fast as their vehicles would let them and endangering and annoying pedestrians and traditional cyclists. I acknowledge that my concern about this issue will seem uncalled-for to many.
I appreciate what you are saying, and folks probably have several different viewpoints on this…
I have an electric ‘e-scooter’…i have it on mode 2 which gives it a max. speed of 11 MPH. I am not always on the max speed, and often find myself in a slower situation as compared to regular bicyclists! It would, in my opinion, be a better idea for all, if there was simply a speed limitation. I see many bikes with an electric capacity on the boardwalk…and I never see THEM being stopped..Funny thing is…my e-scooter IS allowed to travel on sidewalks…go figure???!! Rules are rules, but some rules need to be altered, as there are many more e-scooter riders who would love to be able to travel to their destinations using the boardwalk….
Just sayin’….
Hi Ray,
I really appreciate hearing from you. But I disagree. The counterargument goes something like this:
There are hardly any spaces in U.S. cities where it’s possible for pedestrians and cyclists to get away from motor vehicles. Urban sidewalks require pedestrians to deal with driveways, street crossings, and (in some places) alleys, and bike lanes (including protected ones) force cyclists into an even more intimate relationship with motor vehicles. The success of pedestrian and bike paths surely has a great deal to do with the fact that in most cases they really do shelter their users from active roadways. It’s perfectly clear why users of scooters, hoverboards, e-bikes, and other electronic “personal mobility devices” are drawn to pedestrian and bike paths, but, unfortunately, their presence degrades these paths substantially. Some of these devices permit speeds that people moving under their own power rarely obtain, and none of these devices has adequate braking capability. Motor vehicles—even modest ones—just do not belong on pedestrian and bike paths. Users of personal mobility devices are certainly welcome to use pedestrian and bike paths so long as they’re willing to leave their motor vehicles at home.
The problem is there are no alternative north south bike paths in Miami Beach. A speed limit for electric bikes would be an alternative. BTW the brakes of electrical bikes are perfect.
Thanks for your comment. You haven’t convinced me though—I still think that motor vehicles (including e-bikes) belong on streets with cars. I acknowledge that this may be a losing battle—there are enforcement issues that no police department in the U.S. anyway would want to be involved with. I could be missing something here, but, so far as I know, the only jurisdiction in the world that has successfully gotten e-bikes and scooters off pedestrian and bicycling paths is Singapore.
Hi there, I think there’s a bigger problem in the speed that not only electric scooters travel, but the cyclists as well. I live on the boardwalk and I can tell you from experience, there’s a collision daily by my building on the boardwalk and it’s always between a pedestrian and a cyclist. Even the people renting the citi bikes do not yield to pedestrians. So really, I think if the argument is resting on safety, then the current bike rules need to be reviewed.
I appreciate your comment. Many of the world’s busier pedestrian/bicycling paths—for example, the trails along the Hudson in New York, along Lake Michigan in Chicago, and by the Pacific in Santa Monica and Venice—have separate lanes for cyclists and pedestrians. A good case could be made for instituting something like this on Miami Beach Walk as well (but the southern third of the Walk would probably have to be widened).
Here’s a thought…
Maybe the city should stop limiting use of environmentally friendly modes of transportation on common public paths (pedestrian or non-pedestrian) and put their money where their mouth is by providing bike lanes that are safe and available to any and all modes of non-pedal transportation. I guarantee you that more cyclists and electric motorized vehicle riders are injured on an average day than pedestrians who many times cut us off, throw their baby carriages in our way, unleash their pets and/or children recklessly and place us all in harm’s way. If cities wish to embrace new eco-friendly trends, they must provide safe and protected areas designated for eco-friendly modes of transit. Otherwise, what’s the purpose?
Not sure how seriously to take this. Are you suggesting that electric cars should be allowed on pedestrian/bicycle paths too? That would be the logical result of ceasing to limit where “environmentally friendly” vehicles could go.
There is certainly a good case (as I pointed out in an earlier reply) for separating pedestrians and cyclists on crowded off-road recreational paths. That’s the direction toward which most of the world’s cities are moving.
Even if it doesn’t sound like it, I appreciate your comment.
Ebikes are not regulated. Every month a new one comes out going faster and faster.
Actually, I think there have been numerous attempts by certain jurisdictions to regulate e-bikes. Here, for example, is a page with the rules in New York State. It hasn’t, however, been easy to enforce the rules. Another problem is the fact that some riders modify their machines so that they can go faster than their theoretical limits. Many e-bikes are, basically, motorcycles that run on battery power.