Long Beach Authorizes E-Bike Crackdown At City Council Meeting

LONG BEACH, NY — The Long Beach City Council heard public comment on a local law Tuesday that would regulate the use and storage of e-bikes, e-scooters and other vehicles in Long Beach, including along the city’s boardwalk.

The new ordinance would raise the maximum fine for electric vehicle infractions from $250 to $500 change code language pertaining to electric bikes and both electric and motorized scooters.

The new ordinance would add e-bikes, e-scooters and motor scooters to the list of vehicles banned from riding on sidewalks, boardwalks, beaches and other pedestrian thoroughfares, which are set for designation by the city manager, per the ordinance.

Finally, the proposed ordinance would limit where bikes, e-bikes, scooters and other personal vehicles could be stored, barring the placement and locking of bikes, e-bikes et al “in any manner that obstructs or interferes with the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or blocks any entrance, exit, access way, walkway, roadway, park entrance, beach entrance, boardwalk access point, ramp, stairway, or other public right-of-way,” the ordinance reads.

During public comment on the proposal, multiple questions were raised about the city’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In one comment, Dave Scuden said the proposal would bring the city out of ADA compliance because it lacks an exception for people with disabilities who need to use motorized vehicles.

“This ordinance does not take into account anything from the ADA,” Scuden said. “The ADA states that, under the ADA, a bicycle with electric assist can be classified as what’s called an ‘other power-driven mobility device.’ The law requires that people with disabilities who use these devices be allowed in areas where the public is allowed…If a municipality implements an ordinance banning devices, such as electric scooters, segways, e-bikes, without providing reasonable exceptions for people with disabilities, it faces significant legal risk. I don’t want to see the city get in trouble.”

The city, however, said courts have upheld blanket e-bike prohibitions in crowded areas where e-bike use presents a “legitimate and real safety issue.”

Meanwhile Dr. Gary Sipperstein, an octogenarian who has lived his whole life in Long Beach, said the city is already noncompliant with the ADA, specifically because of how many bikes are locked up to the metal railings on the ramps up to and down from the boardwalk.

“When we rebuilt the boardwalk we followed the best features and aspects of universal design — cutouts on the sidewalks, braille on the buttons for an elevator — and what we have is a metal railing along the paths that go up to the boardwalk, we have sloping ramps so that it’s easier to get up and come down,” Sipperstein said. “On a given Saturday in the middle of the summer, I’ve counted about 20 e-bikes, regular bikes, chained to the railing. They’re not parked on the boardwalk, they’re parked in the middle of the ramps. How do you get down and how do you get up if you’re a person with a disability? We do not conform right now with the ADA, not because we didn’t build it right, because we’re not policing it correctly.”

The state of Long Beach’s bike infrastructure was also a topic of discussion Tuesday night, with council president Brendan Finn saying the city may want to look into additional bike racks in the west end of the city.

Roy Lester, another Long Beach resident, said the discussion of bike safety in Long Beach comes down to bike lanes.

“The problem is…we don’t have bike lanes. And if we had bike lanes, people wouldn’t need to use the boardwalk,” Lester said. “Being on the boardwalk is the safest place you can be. Most of the accidents we have with bikers are on the street with cars…The cars are the dangerous thing for bikers…that’s where the danger is. I’ve said for 20 years, let’s get bike lanes.”

Another commenter, who identified himself as "James," said it's not just a question of bike lanes, but protected bike lanes, which establish a barrier between cars and bikes.

“If we want to fix the sidewalk problem we have to address the root cause: People ride on the sidewalk because they don’t feel safe riding on the street," James said. "By investing in protected bike lanes, we'd solve multiple problems at once: We naturally pull bikes off the sidewalks, we protect kids and older residents who want to get around cleanly, and we ease the massive summer parking strain."

Eileen Heschen brought that infrastructure conversation a step further, suggesting that new store owners be required to install bike racks outside their storefronts.

“We need more racks, because you have eliminated almost every spot where you can tie up your bike,” Heschen said.

DePalma confirmed Lester’s assertion about how many bike accidents involve cars, while Lester decried the fact that bike lanes are often blocked by cars parking in them.

Also raised during public comment was the question of enforcement, which city officials said would be done by officers mostly on-foot. Stopped e-bikes and scooters would receive a summons, LBPD commissioner Richard DePalma said.

“It’s a moving object, and usually the officer will be on foot, so it’s not easy. But we do have methods to slow people down,” DePalma said.

After public comment concluded, the board voted and approved the e-bike ordinance. The vote was unanimous in its favor.