The Miami City Commission endorsed proposed rules this week that would ban the use of e-bikes, motorized scooters, and other micromobility devices on city sidewalks and walkways.
The Miami City Commission voted Thursday to advance new legislation that would restrict how and where electric bikes and motorized scooters could be ridden within the city, but not before raising questions about how the new rules would be enforced.
“This is a huge problem,” Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo said, citing city statistics that showed more than 600 confirmed “incidents” involving micromobility devices, a number of which resulted in injuries to the operators themselves or others.
The legislation – proposed by Miami District 3 Commissioner Rolando Escalona – would ban e-bikes and motorized scooters from city sidewalks and impose a maximum speed limit of 20 miles per hour when those devices are ridden on city streets.
The measure would also impose a blanket ban on anyone under the age of 16 from operating an e-bike or motorized scooter on city sidewalks, streets or rights-of-way.
The rules would apply to city streets and sidewalks, not county roads like Douglas Road, Grand Avenue, Main Highway and South Bayshore Drive, a possible point of confusion for residents that could complicate the city’s enforcement efforts.
The commission voted unanimously to advance the legislation while acknowledging that the measure will need to be amended, to address enforcement issues and the need for a public education campaign.
“There is so much more that needs to go into this,” Miami District 5 Commissioner Christine King said before voting yes.
It was not immediately clear when the measure will return for a second, final vote.
In other action Thursday, the City Commission:
- Approved an additional $250,000 to cover construction costs at an affordable housing project in the West Grove backed by Greater St. Paul A.M.E. Church. Read more: West Grove Affordable Housing Project Nears Completion
- Approved $167,490 in Miami For Everyone grant funds to support restoration and repair work at Christ Episcopal Church on Hibiscus Street in the West Grove. In addition to the church, the 120-year-old landmark building houses the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry.
Since the e-bike rule would not apply to County roads, the proposed Ordinance would not restrict the riding of e-bikes and e-scooters on the portions of Commodore Trail that includes South Bayshore Drive, South Miami Avenue (Mercy Hospital – Vizcaya), McFarlane Road, Main Highway and South Douglas Road, all of which are County roads.
This problem is similar to the attempt the Village of Key Biscayne ran into when they wanted to restrict such vehicles on Crandon Boulevard, which is a County road. Miami-Dade County Commission amended Section 2-98.3 of the Miami-Dade County Code in 2024. The amendment solely pertains to Crandon Boulevard in Key Biscayne and bans the riding of Class 2 (throttle-assisted, maximum speed of 20 mph) and Class 3 e-bikes (pedal-assisted, maximum speed of 28 mph) on Crandon Boulevard. Section 2-98.3 doesn’t ban the riding of Class 1 e-bikes (pedal-assisted, maximum speed of 20 mph) and e-scooters on Crandon Boulevard. The riding of Class 1 e-bikes and e-scooters is allowed on the bicycle paths of Crandon Boulevard.
My thinking is that a similar Miami-Dade County Ordinance that would apply to the County roads of Commodore Trail should be adopted, assuming the Miami-Dade County Commission would not agree to an outright ban of e-bikes and e-scooters on the County roads of Commodore Trail.
Barry Subkow
Coconut Grove
Interesting.. we are jumping to address these laws yet we still haven’t accommodated a safe alternative road for the e-riders to be on.. I think before you invite new laws make sure you have the correct infrastructure to make it fair.. like more e-rider/bike lanes.. limiting 20mph with how fast people disrespect speed limits on the roads in general would probably cause even more accidents lol.