Victory!

September 20, 2006

Motorized bikes get the green light
Rob O'Dell, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Council votes to let them on streets but approves some basic road rules.

The transportation options that gas-powered and electric bicycles provide Tucson residents are more important than the potential safety issues they create, the Tucson City Council said Tuesday.

The council voted unanimously to institute basic regulations on the bikes, including prohibiting them on multiuse paths and on sidewalks, but allowing them on city streets, including in bike lanes and other areas where pedal-powered bikes can go.

The regulations the council implemented were those put forth by city staff members, with the council only adding provisions that required a review in a year's time and mandating that the makers of gas bikes disclose the 20 mph speed limit for the bikes when making a sale.

Councilwoman Carol West said she was concerned about the safety issues that the motorized bikes - which are powered by two-stroke motors similar to the engines that power chain saws, leaf blowers and some Jet Skis - could present. But she said she sided with the fact that the bikes are important transportation for low-income residents.

About 50 people attended the meeting and more than 15 motorized-bike users spoke, mainly to say that the motorized bikes were their primary form of transportation.

That included Stacy DeLancey, who said the gas-powered bike is the way she gets home from work at night after bus service has stopped running. "We get them (motorized bikes) because we need them," DeLancey said.

Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said users "so persuasively argued for them" but urged users to ride the bikes in accordance with the law that only permits the bikes to travel less than 20 mph. Bikes traveling 20 mph or faster are considered motor vehicles and require licenses and insurance and are prohibited in bike lanes.

Traditional bike enthusiasts showed up in smaller numbers and asked that the bikes be banned except on private property.

The regulations were being considered because of a new state law that takes effect on Thursday that exempts these bikes from state motor-vehicle laws but opens the door for city rules. The new city restrictions take effect immediately.

Those restrictions include requiring helmets for operators younger than 18; prohibiting use by people younger than 16; allowing only one rider per bike, prohibiting use on sidewalks; limiting their operations to places where regular bikes are currently allowed; barring them from multiuse paths such as the one around Reid Park or the trail next to the Rillito River; mandating the use of a headlamp and red rear reflector at night; and requiring merchants who sell the bikes to disclose city operating regulations.