OCEAN CITY – Continuing a weeks-long debate, resort officials this week approved on first reading a pair of ordinances aimed at prohibiting certain classes of electric bikes on the Boardwalk and addressing rentals anywhere in the resort.
Two years ago, the Mayor and Council adopted an ordinance prohibiting the increasingly popular e-bikes on the Boardwalk at times when regular bicycles were allowed. While all agreed the higher class e-bikes, such as the Class 3 which can reach speeds of 28 mph could be dangerous and not appropriate on the pedestrian-heavy Boardwalk, some on the divided council believed the lower rated Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes could provide an opportunity for those with disabilities or recuperating from an injury to enjoy the Boardwalk bike-riding experience.
By way of background, the Class 1 bikes are pedal-assisted and, as such, require the operator to pedal to move. The Class 1 types can reach estimated speeds of 20 mph. The Class 2 e-bikes can also reach estimated speeds of 20 mph, but do not require the operator to pedal at all. The Class 3 e-bikes, like the Class 1 variety, are pedal-assisted and require the operator to pedal at some time but can reach estimated speeds of up to 28 mph.
Earlier this year, it was learned a complete prohibition of any e-bikes on the Boardwalk could be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To that end, town officials at various levels have been crafting a way to allow at least the lowest class of e-bike on the Boardwalk during the same hours regular bikes are allowed.
On Monday, the Mayor and Council had before them a pair of ordinances for first reading aimed at addressing the issue. The first would allow only the Class 1 e-bikes on the Boardwalk. That was heavily vetted during a work session last week and the consensus among the council was allowing the Class 1 e-bikes would not create any safety issues while not infringing on any ADA rights. The ordinance passed 6-0 with Councilman Lloyd Martin absent with little discussion.
The second ordinance related to e-bikes up for first reading on Monday would prohibit the rental of Class 3 e-bikes anywhere in town. The thinking is, if one could rent a Class 3 e-bike in town, the renters would likely end up on the Boardwalk at some point, creating enforcement challenges for the ordinance only allowing the Class 1 e-bikes on the Boardwalk.
Prior to the vote on the first ordinance, Council President Matt James pointed out if the Class 3’s were prohibited on the Boardwalk, shouldn’t the rental of the Class 2’s in town be also be not allowed.
“I’m not going to hold this up, so I’m going to vote for it,” he said. “I’d just like to have a discussion about allowing the rental of the Class 2’s in town. If the Class 2’s aren’t allowed on the Boardwalk, why would we allow the rentals of the Class 2’s in town.”
During the work session last week, the council asked City Manager Terry McGean to explore just who and how many bike rental operations in town were currently renting e-bikes of any type. McGean presented his findings to the Mayor and Council on Monday.
“A request was made during the work session to canvas the rental agencies in town and find out who is renting e-bikes and what types they were renting,” he said. “Currently, no business in town is renting e-bikes at all. A business in West Ocean City rents Class 2 e-bikes, but nobody in this area rents the Class 3’s.”
Council Secretary Tony DeLuca, in keeping with James’s question, said he wanted to amend the ordinance on the table to prohibit the rental of the Class 2 e-bikes in town as well. The amendment ultimately died for lack of a second, but not before considerable debate.
“I’d like to tweak this ordinance in keeping with the idea it’s better to incrementally add,” DeLuca said. “Nobody in Ocean City rents e-bikes at all right now. We’ve heard from the experts. I would like to prohibit the rental of Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes within city limits.”
City Solicitor Heather Stansbury explained the reasoning behind the prohibition of the rental of Class 3 e-bikes anywhere in town in relation to the ban of the Class 2’s and Class 3’s on the Boardwalk.
“The concern was if we wanted to prohibit the operation of the Class 3 e-bikes on the Boardwalk, we wouldn’t want to allow the rental of the Class 3 bikes anywhere in town because it would be heard to monitor the rental of a Class 3 on Baltimore Avenue, say, and prohibit them from coming up on the Boardwalk.”
Councilman John Gehrig said prohibiting the rental of certain classes of e-bikes anywhere in town was a bit of an overkill and pointed out state law allows e-bikes on most streets and roadways.
“There is much more than just the Boardwalk here,” he said. “I know a lot of us don’t think of that. That’s just a piece of Ocean City. I just don’t know why we are considering banning the rentals.”
Stansbury said the ordinance as proposed did not prohibit the sale of the other types of e-bikes in town.
“Right now, you are prohibiting the rentals of the Class 3 bikes,” she said. “You are allowing the sales and repairs of the Class 3 e-bikes. The amendment proposed would also prohibit the rental of the Class 2 e-bikes.”
Gehrig questioned the motivation for prohibiting the rentals of certain classes of e-bikes anywhere in town when the prohibition on riding them was confined to the Boardwalk.
“We’re going to have to enforce people riding Class 2’s and Class 3’s on the Boardwalk,” he said. “They can be used anywhere else in town but we’re considering prohibiting the rental of them. Are we afraid the Boardwalk rental operators would still rent them?”
McGean said the concern wasn’t so much the bicycle rental companies were going to rent e-bikes but that the operators of the higher classes would go to the Boardwalk and learn some were allowed and some were not.
“We don’t believe, at all, that businesses are going to willfully disregard this,” he said. “Nobody is renting any of them right now. I you rent an e-bike to somebody and it’s a Class 3 and you say you can’t ride this on the Boardwalk, and they ride down and see a whole bunch of other e-bikes on the Boardwalk, they’re going to say, ‘well I’m going to ride my e-bike on the Boardwalk.’ That’s what the concern is.”
DeLuca said he could live with the ordinance as written, which prohibits the rental of the Class 3 e-bikes in town and that his main concern was allowing just the Class 1 e-bikes to ride on the Boardwalk. He said he believed it was just consistent to prohibit the rental of the Class 3’s and not the Class 2’s when both aren’t allowed on the Boardwalk.
“I’m a bike guy,” he said. “What I want is only Class 1 e-bikes on the Boardwalk. Nobody is renting them today, so we’re not hurting anyone’s business. I just think it’s better to add than to take away.”
Gehrig questioned the focus on the e-bike rentals when there are other motorized vehicles being rented throughout town. McGean explained the main issue it is difficult to enforce the operation of the different classes of e-bikes on the Boardwalk because they all appear similar.
“The difference between an e-bike and a little scooter car or moped is you can clearly see the difference if you are a police officer trying to enforce this,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to tell the difference between an e-bike and one of those little scooter cars with the flag. It’s much more difficult to tell the difference between a Class 1, Class 2 or Class 3.”
After considerable debate, the council voted 6-0 to approve on first reading the ordinance as written, which prohibits the rental of the Class 3 e-bikes anywhere in town.
