I rode on a bike path for the first time on the Vineyard as a child on a rented three-speed bike. My daughter who has just turned 25 has made more than one trip to the Vineyard for each of her years. The same day we took the training wheels off her bike, we made a round trip to Oak Bluffs. My parents would never have let me roam the Island on my own, nor would I have been able to take my daughter on such an excursion, were it not for the safety of the Island’s bike paths. Today that safety is under threat from ebikes (electrically powered bikes). Although they may be quiet and non-polluting, they pose a hazard to cyclists and pedestrians that is equal to that of mopeds.

The speed threat wasn’t obvious when ebikes first showed up in bike stores because their capabilities were similar to European “pedalecs,” the only type allowed on European bike infrastructure, with 250-watt motors that boost only during pedaling which ceases at 25 kph (15.6 mph).

But now the Massachusetts standard for ebikes specify that the motor cannot exceed 750 watts, the bike cannot travel faster than 20 mph without pedaling with and no limit when boosted during pedaling. This is much faster than the majority of pedaled bikes using the Island’s bike paths. More troubling is that a lot of ebike riders, especially those who might rent an ebike, do not have the experience to handle a bike at those speeds. A typical cyclist who can pedal and maintain speeds over 20 mph has logged many hours in the saddle and learned how a bike handles at 15 mph, 16 mph, etc.

The commonwealth has banned motorized bikes from bike paths (the bicycles are permitted on bicycle lanes running adjacent to roads but not on off-street recreational bicycle paths.) On the Vineyard the law has been misinterpreted to allow ebikes on some of the off-street paths where they are near a road. The bike lanes described in the law share pavement with the streets and roads and are divided off by painted lines and have a bike symbol. All the traditional bike paths on the Vineyard, such as the paths connecting Vineyard Haven, Edgartown, and Oak Bluffs are of the off-street recreational type, and all motorized bikes, including ebikes are meant to be excluded, just as mopeds are. Now during the off-season is the time to enforce the ban, put up the proper signage and work with the bike shops and rental agencies to comply with the state law and get ebikes off the paths and back on the roads along with the mopeds.

Robert Brennan
Somerville