rydabent

No one likes a whiner. Since when should anyone feel that they should be able to dictate what other people ride.

rydabent

I disagree. A lawful 750 watt motor is nothing to get your underlovelies in a bunch over. It just means many more people that need a little help can be out on the bike trails. That is a good thing.

indyfabz

Are you trying to harass me or did you not read this portion of the OP to which my comment was directed?:

"but cities need to look into old bicycle infrastructure and make changes to include the increase in ebike use." (Emphasis added.)

Or perhaps you are not in favor of cycling-related improvements?

70sSanO

The best, and I mean the absolute best, that can be done is to have the city, or county post signs. Most likely a speed limit or prohibiting any motorized bike or vehicle. They will only do that if they feel that there is some possible liability if they fail to do so. There will not be any enforcement. But there "might" be some recourse if someone is injured, not from the city, or county, but from the person who was using the ebike. Not that anyone in today's culture would actually stop to help an injured person and risk getting caught, but the signs will make everyone feel safer regardless of reality.

John

Troul 

Those signs are in place, & ignored. Some people do not associate E to a motorized vehicle.

WhyFi

Okay, I choose a tank.

70sSanO

This might be tougher than it sounds as a lot of government doesn't want to face a difficult situation that might warrant any expenditures for improvements. I recall seeing a sign at a county wilderness park, prohibiting ebikes on the trails, but you really have to look for it. It is an easier for them to approach it from a liability standpoint.

There is a beach where I have surfed for years. For decades it was run by the local surfing club and then became a state beach. There used to be a specific section for kayaks and surf skis and now SUPs. That has kind of disappeared, which is not an issue for me. What is an issue are foil boards that have a metal wing on the bottom of the board. Those can easily slice you up if get hit with one. I was talking to a ranger about them and if there is going to be any regulating where they can be used and he said he has no idea, the state is still trying to figure out how to address the paddle boards. Since there is an enhanced liability, I imagine there will be signs one day and that will be that.

John

indyfabz

Posting on BF will not result in the modernization the OP desires.

Near where I live there have been many improvements over the years to what is the equivalent of the I-95 of bike trails. Many of those improvements have been spurred by users participating in the process.

70sSanO

Yes. I wasn't taking exception to you or anything you have said. And in my opinion, the improvements will occur when those who can influence local governments, either developers or whoever, get them to make improvements that will provide some additional revenue in the form of taxes/fees through more housing, higher home values, etc; or maybe even survival. I've got to believe those improvements will include an infrastructure that supports ebikes, as that is where the industry sees the greatest opportunity for growth.

John

msu2001la

It's pretty clear that people can and do ride like idiots regardless of what kind of bike they're on.

Do e-bikes encourage bad behavior? I don't really think so, but if you're the kind of person who's gonna ride like a dummy an e-bike can definitely amplify that behavior.

msu2001la

Curious as to what "infrastructure that supports ebikes" looks like, in your mind?

Is this just wider trails, more pavement, less curves, generally designed for higher speed? I guess I'm not sure if this should always be the case (and I realize you aren't saying that). Some trails I ride would be far more boring if they were redesigned to facilitate higher speeds. I feel the same about some twisty canyon roads... just because some drivers choose to race up and down these in overpowered vehicles at dangerous speeds doesn't necessarily mean the roads need to be redesigned as a result.

70sSanO

If you are talking paved MUPs, maybe wider, removing blind corners where possible, and slow zones (that will be ignored) for blind areas, a dedicated pedestrian lane might help.

MTB trails are another subject. That one is a lot tougher because you don't want to ruin a trail to accommodate e-mtbikes. And you don't want to encourage people who normally wouldn't be on a trail, if they had to peddle it, and someone has to be airlifted out. You'll still have hikers, but generally no dogs. The mountain lions generally enforce the no dog rule. I can envision that one day there will be some sort of registration process in designated state/county wilderness trail areas as access to someone injured is such a pain. I just can't see higher speed e-mtbikes and hikers co-existing on the same trail.

John

WhyFi

I think that it looks like our current streets with slightly lower speed limits for all vehicles on non-arterial roads. If you plan on cruising at 20mph or more, with a motor or not, I think that streets are the best option.

Dedicated paths, I think, should have posted 10-15mph top speeds (which people will continue to push to 20mph or so when sensible).

I know - a guy can dream.