In most towns, bikes aren’t allowed on the sidewalks. This is even more reason that a bike lane should be marked out on the roadway, separate from motor vehicle traffic to the far right. Look at the town of Upton, bike lane in the roadway with a separate lane for bikes not included or more importantly confused with a sidewalk.

Indeed. That was one of several edits to my letter:

Mass Gen Laws, Chap 85, Section 11B, “and (3) bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks OUTSIDE [emphasis mine] business districts…”

I regret that confusion.

The town should eliminate the truly idiotic new bike lanes, widen the roadways for emergency vehicles and paint in a new bike lane.

E bikes should be subject to the same regulations as scooters and mopeds.

The notion of an “e-bike” being referred to as a “bicycle” is ludicrous. These things are more like mini motorcycles that kids of any age are now allowed to “drive”. I was out walking with my lovely wife on a quiet neighborhood street near the middle / high school complex. School had just let out, and we saw a kid zipping along on an electric skateboard. He was actually speeding. He was going 30 mph in a 25 mph zone. He was traveling down the middle of the street. No helmet. No knee pads. Nothing but a backpack which probably had his school books and homework that he won’t be able to do when he crashes his scooter at 30 mph and suffers brain damage. These e-bikes and scooters are a severe danger to the public. I am old, legally blind, and walk with a cane. I am terrified of reckless people on e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-skateboards who think nothing of speeding along the sidewalk.

Hoppy, the horse is outa the barn here. The problem can not be fixed by Hopkinton. Hopefully the legislature will wake up and see what they have wrought, and at least make an attempt to rein it in.

The envolved 13-year-old hit the car because he lacked the skill and knowledge required. All evidence points to his failure to use the front
brake. That, of course is on top of his speeding up the sidewalk in a business district.

The night i contemplated the skidmark while awaiting our BlueSquare order, an adult on an Ebike, followed by a child on a pedal bike, crossed Main St from the library side, and rode down the side walk. I pointed out that bikes don’t belong on the sidewalk. He was unconcerned.

I run the Ashland Bike Club now in its 12th year. Most of our members are in their 60s, 70s, and even well into their 80s. We have riders from Hopkinton who are in their 70s and 80s and many of them use e-bikes on our club rides. They wouldn’t be able to ride with the club on a standard pedal bike. It’s important not to “throw the baby out with the bath water.”

The criticisms raised by Ed and other commenters are fully justified. There’s a serious problem here that needs to be addressed immediately.

For starters, there needs to be far better safety education not just about e-bikes but about bicycling in general. Bike riders need instruction and so do automobile drivers. There is virtually no education being provided by state and local governments to improve bicycle safety. This needs to change.

The introduction of e-bikes was done with a painful lack of policy consideration. The federal government provided three “classes” of e-bikes. In my view, they should have only allowed one. Class 1 must be pedaled to go and the battery assist cuts out at 20 mph. The cut-off should have happened at 15 mph. Class 2 e-bikes are an abomination. They do NOT need to be pedaled to go. Because they can go without pedaling, they are NOT bicycles. Class 2 e-bikes should be banned unless they are used by mobility-challenged persons. And Class 3 e-bikes provide a battery assist up to 28 mph. That is NOT a safe speed for most people to ride a bicycle. These, too, should be banned or they should require licensing, registration, and insurance coverage.

And one last thing about e-bikes …

High e-bike speeds are not just a problem on sidewalks; they are a problem on bike paths as well. Bike paths, aka multi-use paths, are commonly used by both pedestrians and bike riders in very close proximity. For the safety of all, it is critical for bike riders to slow down when other path users are present. This is especially true for e-bikes that often weigh 3 to 4 times the weight of a standard bicycle. A heavy e-bike traveling at a high rate of speed on a narrow path could cause major injuries (or worse) to a pedestrian or another bike rider. Put these in the hands of children who lack the necessary maturity and who have had no driver training, and the risks are greatly magnified.

E-bikes can be a blessing if they are used safely. They can help address our climate issues, provide an alternate source of transportation, and provide recreation to many people who otherwise would not use a bicycle. Policy-makers have allowed a technology with great potential to “go public” with a serious lack of education and poorly conceived regulations. The e-bike crisis urgently needs to be remedied. In every sense, this is very much a matter of life and death.

Ashland Bike Club

Thank you Joel! An excellent analysis of a complex situation, likely the result of limited understanding by those who setup the Ebike standards in the first place.

I have witnessed over the past 10 years many instances of both e-bikes, mini-motor cycles & scooters driving where they should NOT be and in a manner which is not acceptable to the operation of a motor vehicle. Where none of these occurrences did not directly involve me, I have failed to write both local and state legislators about incidents reported and overall danger to citizens around the state, including both children who may be victims of reckless driving accidents and those who caused the accident. I encourage anyone who feels that these vehicles are dangerous to the majority of citizens who drive on our streets and walk on our sidewalks should write your legislators and ask them to take action to correct the mistakes made in holes within the legislation passed to protect ALL citizens.