Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
City might ban scooters — but not quite yet
Motorized scooters and electric bicycles that weave through pedestrians in Delray Beach could be banned soon from the city’s sidewalks.
But first the city will wait to see what the state Legislature decides. Some state legislators want to curb bans being imposed by Florida’s cities. They are considering a law that would forbid cities from regulating dockless scooters.
The Delray Beach City Commission was set Tuesday to consider a new law prohibiting the mechanical movers, but commissioners pulled the ordinance from the agenda on the advice of their attorney.
The law would have prohibited the operation of motorized scooters, electric bicycles and Go-peds, which are twowheeled scooters, and banned their sale, rental or lease within the city. There were no specific penalties listed for violating the proposed law.
Delray Beach would have followed the lead of a city to the south, Hollywood, which banned scooters last month.
But not every city is on board: Palm Beach decided in January to allow them, and Fort Lauderdale followed in in February.
In some cities, riders can rent dockless scooters using a smartphone app. Complaints have poured in to some cities about reckless driving and scooter “litter,” as riders dump them in streets or across sidewalks when they’re done.
State law prohibits scooter riders from taking to the streets, but many do it anyway, weaving in between traffic and pedestrians. Escooter riders are supposed to be 18 or older, but some ignore the rule.
Critics say the scooters put riders at risk, along with pedestrians, joggers and bicyclists.
So far Delray Beach has no companies that rent the dockless scooters, although Richwagen’s Delray Bike & Sport and some other stores rent electric bicycles.
Dominick Lepore, a Richwagen’s manager, said customers have never reported getting in any accidents. He said Richwagen’s electric bicycles are pedal-assisted, limiting their speed.
“You can have an accident walking, or with regular bicycles in general,” he said. “You’re not going to abandon bicycles.”
He said the electric bike rentals are a large part of Richwagen’s business. They rent for $60 for two hours, $100 for a day or $350 for a week, with up to four typically rented each week.
Delray Beach residents pleaded with the commission not to restrict these people-movers. Patrick Halliday, a member of the League of American Bicyclists, asked the commission to take bicycles out of the ordinance when they reconsider it in the future. He cited a report that showed no dangers to the public from electric bicycles, as opposed to scooters, which he described as a “toy.”
“Any future discussion about this, I would like electric bicycles to be removed,” he said.
Resident Joe Perry said he rides his electric bike to work every day. “Let’s work toward making Delray an ebike friendly town instead of the opposite,” he said.
City Commissioner Bill Bathurst said the city is trying to stay ahead of national trends.
“We’re looking at future trends of dockless companies coming to town,” he said. “From my perspective, we don’t want to ban private ownership. We just want to keep Delray Beach safe.”