Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I'm not that thrilled with the prospect of ebikes on paths either, and I think the focus on speed being the issue is missing an even bigger potential problem. E assist is making possible larger and heavier cargo bikes, and I've seen some really heavy two wheeled pedal assist vehicles on commuter trails doing about 20 mph. Those heavy cargo ebikes really do need to be classed as street only vehicles because getting hit by one of those on a path at speed is a whole lot more dangerous than a normal weight bike going the same speed.
Eh, I regularly encounter a 30 strong group ride pushing 20MPH weeknights on my local trail, who has little tolerance for anyone getting in their way that'd do serious damage to anyone they actually hit. As with them,if someone is acting in an unsafe manner, punish them individually. Heck, there are plenty of people with small children that think "racing" bikes should be banned from trails, that is hardly a good reason to say only hybrids should be allowed.
And if your biggest fear is that someone might be riding a ladened down cargo bike at 18mph, I think that is all we need to know on how big of a problem this actually is. Getting hit by my 215# butt plus a 30# bike at 18mph is gonna hurt more than 150# person on a 75# bike. If speed is a concern, Anythign that can be propelled over 15mph should be banned. We can all ride low geared cruisers on trails.