Riverhead considers speed, road and nighttime restrictions for electric bike use

The Riverhead Town Board is considering legislation that would strictly limit the use of electric bicycles throughout the town by prohibiting them from traveling on major town roads, capping their speed, and banning their use at night.

The proposed law, presented by Deputy Town Attorney Danielle Hurley at Thursday’s work session, would expand a 2021 local law that heavily regulated electric scooters to also include e-bikes — referred to in the law as “bicycles with electric assist.” It would also increase fines for violations.

Under the proposal, e-bikes would be limited to a maximum speed of 15 mph and prohibited from operating on any sidewalk in the town. 

“Any type of use of those alternate modes of transportation on sidewalks poses a potential danger to pedestrians on the sidewalks and to the users themselves,” Hurley said in an email. 

State law already prohibits e-bikes on any roadway or highway with a posted speed limit above 30 mph. For enforcement purposes, shoulders are considered part of the road, Hurley said. According to a map Hurley provided to RiverheadLOCAL, nearly every major road in Riverhead Town has a speed limit above 30 mph.

The only exception is Main Street, which has a 30 mph speed limit. However, the legislation would explicitly ban e-bikes on Main Street between its intersections with Court Street and Route 58. 

The measure would ban Class 2 e-bikes — which can be powered exclusively by a motor — from designated bicycle lanes, as well as from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Recreational Trail at the Calverton Enterprise Park..

Class 1 e-bikes, which provide motor assistance only while pedaling, would still be allowed in bicycle lanes. Both classes are designed to reach speeds of up to 20 mph. Under state law, Class 3 e-bikes — capable of reaching 25 mph — are prohibited outside cities with a population of one million or more. Electric bicycle classifications are set by state law.

“The thought as to prohibiting Class 2 in bike lanes was about the safety of the other bicycles using the lane which typically are traditional bicycles,” Hurley said. Most roads in Riverhead Town lack bicycle lanes, according to the Suffolk County Bike and Hike Master Plan. Most cyclists ride on a road’s shoulder — if one is there.

The legislation would also ban e-bike use from a half-hour after sunset until a half-hour before sunrise. Hurley said the restriction is intended to protect both e-bike riders and others on the road.

Hurley said the intention of the law is safety, and that the town’s intention is not to limit people’s ability to use alternative transportation. 

“I think if they just operate them in this safe manner and within the town code, we’re more than happy to have them in our roadways,” she said of e-bike users.

Hurley said she doesn’t think the proposal heavily restricts e-bikes. The public will get a chance to comment on the proposal at a public hearing before the Town Board decides whether to adopt the legislation. 

“I’m open to hearing people’s issues and to trying to figure out something,” Hurley said. “This is the first draft. If it’s not working and there’s somebody and it’s really severely hurting them, I’m open to hearing and bringing it back to the Town Board and trying to find something that’s within the [vehicle and traffic law] allowable limits.”

While Riverhead has the authority to regulate e-bikes, parts of the proposal are “troublesome and puzzling,” said Matt Moore, policy counsel for the PeopleForBikes Coalition, a bicycle and industry advocacy group.

Banning Class 2 e-bikes from bicycle lanes and sidewalks “will force them into motor vehicle traffic lanes, which does not seem likely to increase safety,” Moore said in an email. “The nighttime ban also makes no sense since most electric bikes have built in lights, and lights are required equipment for operating a bicycle or electric bicycles during hours of darkness.” 

Moore added that overly strict rules could harm people who rely on e-bikes, including people with disabilities or those unable to obtain a driver’s license. 

“If regulations are too onerous, people who depend on electric bicycles for transportation…will have their mobility restricted, or will face possible fines,” he added. “Of course motor vehicles have no such restrictions on night time use, even though they are involved in the overwhelming majority of crashes and injuries.”

He also warned that enforcement could disproportionately impact lower-income residents or people of color. 

“When excessive regulation of electric bicycles has no factual basis in safety data, it may simply reflect a bias against these vehicles,” Moore said. “Perhaps the best solution here is for Riverhead to lower speed limits on more roads, which studies have shown will both reduce crashes and make the crashes that do happen more survivable for cyclists and pedestrians.”

Separately, another proposed town code amendment presented Thursday would prohibit non-electric bicycles from using the sidewalks along Route 58 between Kroemer Avenue and East Main Street/Doctors Path.

“I have been in discussions with PD about the dangerousness of bikes that have been going up and down Route 58,” Deputy Town Attorney Victoria Pilo said. “So, as we know, County Road 58 is our busiest commercial corridor, and includes sidewalks on both sides. And there are a lot of vehicles that enter and exit driveways, there’s a lot of pedestrian traffic.”

Route 58 lacks a bicycle lane and, in some stretches, has no shoulders at all.

“The goal is not to limit the biking in the town,” Pilo said. “It is just to prevent accidents in the high traffic area.”