Palm Coast is about to have strict new ebike regulations.
Based on a proposal the city attorney presented to the City Council Tuesday, and the feedback he received from council members, ebike speeds will be limited to 10 miles per hour on all sidewalks, ebike riders must be 13 or older, ebike riders younger than 16 will be required to wear a helmet, ebike riders of any age may not wear AirPods or headphones while riding, and must–also at any age–carry a sate-issued, photo identification card.
Sheriff Rick Staly suggested to the council that the city adopt an ordinance exceeding state regulations. The sheriff is working with the sponsor of new legislation that would further strengthen ebike regulations statewide. The council followed up, discussing the draft ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting. It will likely adopt the reworked ordinance in a few weeks.
“It’s an emerging issue from a public safety perspective, and I think we have to address it,” Council member Charles Gambaro said.
State law grants local governments–for now–the authority to police and regulate roadways in their jurisdiction, even state roadways. Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation extending that local authority to regulating ebike-riding.
Ebikes must be operated according to state law similarly to regular bikes. They may go wherever non-ebikes go. Some may legally go up to 20 mph, some to 28 mph. All must be powered by an electric motor of no more than 750 watts.
The regulations Palm Coast is proposing would require that ebikes on “any sidewalk or bicycle path that is not immediately adjacent to a roadway” will not go faster than 10 mph, and that all riders will yield to pedestrians’ right of way. That appears to mean that riders on paths such as the Royal Palms footpath or the Leheigh Trail between Old Kings Road and Colbert Lane may go as fast as 20 or 28 mph.
Council member found the section imprecise–what is “adjacent”?–and looked for a 10 mph limit on “all sidewalks.” That would require the city to install speed limit signs in many places, a cost the council had not considered.
Duffy’s original proposal would have prohibited riders younger than 15 from operating an ebike on public grounds, but not from being passengers on ebikes.
“I’m not comfortable with that age, because we were held on wheels at 12, on bikes,” Mayor Mike Norris said. So the age was lowered to 13, with some discomfort even regarding that limit. “To what extent do we say it’s a parent’s decision whether or not they want to allow their child to operate an ebike,?” Council member Theresa Pontieri said. “I just have a real problem making that decision for parents.”
“I’ve seen adults breaking those rules plenty, too,” Council member Ty Miller said.
There was no disagreement about all riders younger than 16 having to wear helmets, or the requirement that all ebike riders carry identification papers: a government-issued ID, which must be presented to law enforcement upon request.
The proposed ordinance makes a distinction between ebikes and “electric powered cycles.” It defines the latter as “off-highway motorcycles” or dirt bikes as defined by state law, F.S. 317.0003(5) and powered by an electric engine. The Palm Coast definition, however, relies on a liberal and legally vulnerable interpretation of state law that is not as hard-and-fast as it appears. Palm Coast’s ordinance uses the phrase best understood as to conflate electric powered cycles with off-highway motorcycles. Best understood as is not a legally airtight definition, because it is not defined in law. Understood by whom? According to what section of law?
State law addresses “off-highway motorcycles,” defining them as “any motor vehicle used off the roads” and with “not more than two wheels in contact with the ground,” excluding tractors and mopeds. The law does not address ebikes or “electric powered cycles.” Palm Coast would therefore leave it to an officer’s discretion to interpret the type of bike at issue, creating another vulnerability. The city includes three-wheeled powered bikes in that category.
The city would essentially prohibit those “electric powered cycles” from use anywhere in the city–bike lanes, bike paths, city parks and properties, all public rights of way, all city roads, all sidewalks.
Violators of regulations applying to any type of bike would face a $100 fine. Electric powered cycle violators could see their bike confiscated.
“It’s going to be a trial and error, enforcing this thing,” City Attorney Marcus Duffy, who wrote the proposed ordinance, said. “If this goes through and gets passed, the Sheriff’s Office starts enforcing it, I think that’s going to be the learning curve the first couple of months, weeks.”
The legislature may yet further regulate ebikes. Duffy recommends that the city not wait on state regulation, and Miller said “if we have something on the books before they start regulating, then potentially we could be grandfathered in if we believe ours is correct, but if we wait until after them, then potentially we can’t.”
John LeMaster, the Sheriff’s Office’s general counsel,said Sheriff Rick Staly is working with the sponsor of ebike legislation to advance the bill. “ Nothing that Mr. Duffy has suggested is contrary to the draft bill that I’ve seen, it would fall toward a hand in glove with that,” LeMaster said.
St. Johns, Volusia and Putnam counties are working on ebike ordinances of their own.
When the mayor opened the floor to public comment, there was some panicky testimony about ebikes–the current bugaboo shadowing young people–as from Brian Chrestoff, a Casper Court resident. “We have several individuals that use these bikes. They don’t go to school, they don’t ride to the swimming pool,” he said. “They use these bikes strictly to come out at night. What they do is they dress up in Ninja suits. They are completely in black. They wear hoods, they have masks on, and they come out, and they use the golf course as a hiding ground, and they are absolutely untouchable. They hit the houses. My house has been hit nine times, nine times in the last nine months. And what they do is they come out and kick your door in. I just had $1,000 brand new garage door that was smashed with some type of battery ram. And then what they do is they hide their bikes up in the sand traps. They run back up there and you cannot touch them.”
No one else mentioned the phenomenon. It is unclear why the Ring cameras that now leave few streets unsurveilled have not documented the alleged “Ninja” hooliganism.
Jay Wagner, a local resident and 81-year-old ebike rider, said regulating ebikes is valid, “but I don’t think this ordinance is clear. I don’t think it’s definitive. I think it it creates more questions than it answers.” Speaking as a representative of the senior-riding community, Wagner said the concept of regulating ebikes needs more work, too. “We use this for recreation. We use ebikes for health,” he said. “Senior citizens who are riding etrikes are not going to be riding etrikes in the street. It’s far too dangerous.” (Etrikes are electric-powered tricycles.) The city’s sidewalks are not Manhattan’s, he said. “You’ll hardly see anybody walking on the sidewalks, and you’ll see precious few bikers on the sidewalks also. So we’re creating, in my opinion here an issue that is far overblown.”
Tony Amaral, a builder and a candidate for a City Council seat, said the ordinance “needs to be more broad.” He’d just been scouting the University of Florida in Gainesville with his son. He saw students using electric skateboards, which are not addressed in the proposed ordinance. He suggested having ebikes registered the way the city requires registration of dogs. At the same time, he favors lowering the permissible riding age, since students who live within two miles of their school may not ride the bus. Ebikes allow students to make it to school and back faster.
Mark Woods raised questions about enforcement. “Once again, we are adding workload expectations to our law enforcement services,” he said. “How many more deputies are we going to need to enforce? The next 300, 400 kids that are riding all over the city on ebikes? How much is that going to cost the citizens for enforcement? I don’t see enforcement of bicycles happening today.”
Pontieri suggested requiring ebike and regular bike merchants to provide an educational brochure to anyone buying such products, and to have the city or Sheriff’s Office provide classes in schools–something the Transportation Planning Organization has already done in summer camps, though those camps draw only a fraction of students. Licensing bike operators, Council member Ty Miller said, could include that educational component more systematically. But that would require a whole new licensing process.
Data on ebike crashes or incidents is lacking. The city’s fire department just started breaking out ebike data.
Pogo says
@A good beginning
Well done.
Skibum says
It’s about time! As technology changes and problems start becoming a public safety issue due to an alarming number of injuries, even deaths, related to the operation of e-bikes, new laws and regulations not only need to be implemented, but ENFORCED!
Let’s hope that the FCSO traffic unit as well as other patrol deputies put an emphasis on bike safety once the new ordinance is in place. It should include bike safety education at every school in the county for kids. It should include public outreach by the sheriff’s office for parents of kids with bikes, so the adults can be assured of knowing the important safety rules and what the law says about children and teens with bikes, both regular as well as e-bikes so they can hopefully ensure their kids ride safely and minimize the possibility their kids will end up injured or worse.
DMFinFlorida says
I am all for tighter regulations because of how many times I have had adults AND children ride right out in front of me (a lot since I live near the Indian Trails schools). But for my intensely defensive driving, I no doubt would have hit more than one of them. I am very alert because of how often it has happened. But not everyone around here is attentive while driving.
My biggest question is how effective will the enforcement be? Regulations mean nothing if violations are not acted upon. There is a lot going on in this city and our LEO’s might be busy handling something of greater importance.
K says
Do kids get IDs early here? I didn’t get an official ID till I was driving at age 18.
Do regular bike riders have the upper hand on speed now? A quick google says that an average bike rider goes 12-15mph. A regular bike also doesn’t have a speedometer, so they have no clue how fast they’re going.
Shark says
And what happens if they don’t comply?? Nothing. FCSO does nothing to control vehicular traffic. I guess Staly will need another ten deputies to hang out at Wawa and RaceTrac,
Marc C says
The sheriff may consider enforcing current laws as well. Each morning, SRD’s watch hundreds of school children ride their bikes to school without helmets. The new proposals make sense, but I don’t have much faith they will do anything if they are treated the same as are current regulations. It doesn’t take too much effort to find the FlaglerLive articles about kids getting hit on bikes while not wearing a helmet.
I wish you well says
There comes a time when each of us must consider whether a community’s aspirations, priorities, and cultural views, no longer reflect one’s own… this issue, and the “solutions” suggested have convinced me that this is indeed such a time.
JimboXYZ says
Some very good points made:
“There was no disagreement about all riders younger than 16 having to wear helmets, or the requirement that all ebike riders carry identification papers: a government-issued ID, which must be presented to law enforcement upon request.”
That’s in line with the state statute for pedal only bicycles, skateboards & other relative modes of transportation that don’t require a vehicle registration/license plate.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/316.2065
“The city would essentially prohibit those “electric powered cycles” from use anywhere in the city–bike lanes, bike paths, city parks and properties, all public rights of way, all city roads, all sidewalks.”
This makes no sense, there has to be some delineation for the direction a bike can travel on a sidewalk in regards o the motorist traffic on the street. Salmoning against Northbound traffic while riding any bicycle is a potential right turn onto a main road away from an injured, maybe even dead child. Recent example, the dump truck that hit a child doing that on the side walk on Belle Terre (Pine Grove). I’d rather have an ebike operator in a bike lane than on a sidewalk. But common sense would be that if an ebike operator came up from behind a bicyclist the same rules for passing that apply to cars makes sense, even alerting the human powered bicycle rider that they are coming up from behind them at a faster rate of speed. Some right of way logically has to be applied for the potential accidents that may result.
While FS 317. covers ATV’s & similar, 316.2065 covers human powered bicycles. There has to be some marrying of the the statutes to arrive at something that is common sense.
I mean, if a bicycle riding the sidewalk has to alert a pedestrian that they are approaching per SS 316, common sense would be that same legal requirement of a courtesy would apply to an ebike operator. Same holds for Lehigh Trail or any other bike trails on planet Earth, not just Flagler County.
So far there haven’t been that many incidences that the state laws really don’t already cover beyond adding berbage for the new ebikes & skateboards.
As for enforcement costs ? Hiring more FCSO deputies ? Really ? I think the police presence is enough for enforcement of traffic laws, Officers are generally observant enough that the obviously fewer ebikes than cars & enforcing the ebike ordinances should be included in that shift of being parked on Belle Terre or any of the other roads that Officers are parked to catch motorists for traffic infractions ?
The few that require legislation always ruin it for those that already ride anything. And then the whole can of worms for legal jargon enters the legislation. So that the dumbest ones are challenging their citation in a courtroom. Again common sense has to apply, lawyer types, debating semantics & words over common sense for loopholes.
“Jay Wagner, a local resident and 81-year-old ebike rider, said regulating ebikes is valid, “but I don’t think this ordinance is clear. I don’t think it’s definitive. I think it it creates more questions than it answers.” Speaking as a representative of the senior-riding community, Wagner said the concept of regulating ebikes needs more work, too. “We use this for recreation. We use ebikes for health,” he said. “Senior citizens who are riding etrikes are not going to be riding etrikes in the street. It’s far too dangerous.” (Etrikes are electric-powered tricycles.) The city’s sidewalks are not Manhattan’s, he said. “You’ll hardly see anybody walking on the sidewalks, and you’ll see precious few bikers on the sidewalks also. So we’re creating, in my opinion here an issue that is far overblown.””
Not sure if vagueness is real concern, creates more questions ? Parents always taught me that the pecking order for safety is pedestrian, bicyclist, motorist for potential accidents for injury & fatality. And then right of way laws later covered any gray areas for others with a right of way. If Government types are the experts they claim to be for statutes & ordinances as legislation, the lawyers are loop hole verbage experts just the same ? How hard would it to be to draft state statute or even City Ordinance to cover ebikes ? The ones that are creating the chaos, getting into mischief those types will always be a problem. Whether it’s the juvenile delinquent damaging property with pranks or the DUI/DWI Driver’s License suspension adult, enforcing anything ebike is going to have the same courtroom trials, defenses & debates. I just think that a state statute could be updated to cover this, but if a city ordinance needs to be drafted to make common sense more clear for the few that can’t operate an ebike without drama ? Then this is where we are as a community. The whole ordinance thing came up only because some juvenile delinquents were using ebikes to flee from officers on a bike path/trail. The Officers apprehended them, but I recall the police had to operate their vehicles on the path/trail which is prohibited for the general public ? Catching the juvenile delinquents & criminals evading & running from law enforcement is always going to be that relative “chase”.
Andy Dodzik says
This ordinance should cover all bikes not just e-bikes. Ten mph is a little too slow. 15 mph would be more appropriate. Trails in Volusia county have posted 15 mph limits.
I'd like to see you try says
Stupid unenforceable law and Ambiguous as Hell. “E cyclists face a $100 fine and “MAY” get their bike confiscated?” Screw that, it cost $2K ya gotta catch me first copper, so good luck with that
No enforcement says
A great idea BUT another waste of time.
FCSO will not actually enforce this unless we give them more $$$ to hire more officers which will lead to more marked units at Duncan Donuts lol
RWBoggess says
While I understand the concerns that citizens have with e-bike and their dangers (I have one), I am more concern in general with bike safety — and not just kids but also adults. The next time you are stopped at an intersection take note if a a bike (or e-bike rider) and see if they obey the traffic signs? Hell, what about automobile drivers with respect to the right on red rule after coming to a complete stop? There is no enforcement there and there is no reason to believe that there would be any meaningful enforcement of new e-bike rules. As for enforcement of the traffic laws by the SO, does anyone know how many traffic tickets are written in Palm Coast or even a count on anything the SO does. On any given night, the Commander’s Report reports less than 6 or 7 reportable incidents.
Anonymous says
E-bikes themselves aren’t unsafe they’re just another form of transportation the real problem is when people don’t pay attention, most of these crashes happen because someone isn’t looking both ways or on there phone, not because the bike is electric. If everyone followed the same basic rules of awareness on the road, e-bikes would be no more dangerous than regular bikes.(which will be faster than e-bikes after this)
Billy B says
It would be interesting to find out how many e bike or bicycle violations have been issued for no helmets in the past year. Someone should do a FOIA request for this information.
James says
FCSO deputies are too busy working on I95 to enforce motor vehicle violations in Palm Coast. People speeding – blowing thru red lights – improper u turns – failure to stop – right turn on red – obstructed license plates – tailgaters and on and on !!!
james says
all this going to do is push the ebike riders to the street and be even more dangerous. good luck! I have an ebike and I’ll be riding on the streets if this goes through. whatever, i don’t care.
MICHAEL says
This is going to hurt the people that use e bikes to commute to work and create more accidents on our roadways because of a bunch of Karen’s
Mentally healthy person says
Normal peddlers go faster than 10. An ordinance which requires investment up front and enforcement, so property taxes should increase another $200/yr for it, right? And where is the evidence of injury. By the way, ever looked at a video of 1900 San Francisco? People used all kinds of transport at the same time all over the place and people didn’t die every day. Quit acting like old grumpy people
Ed P says
Since everyone is on board with needing a government id to ride a bike, oops an e-bike then voter id shouldn’t be a problem should it?
How do you square up the concepts?
Need an id to enter a federal building, purchase alcohol/cigarettes, get through TSA, cash a check, drive a car, open a bank account, enter a cannabis dispensary, pick up drug prescriptions, buy advil cold, admission to a hospital, apply for employment, and even to apply for public aide.
Yet it’s voter suppression.
Who doesn’t have a valid id?
Pig Farmer says
10 MPH? Ridiculous! I agree we need some rules for e-bikes, but let’s not make them useless.
Concerned biker who doesn't want to be hit by a car says
Wow. 10 mph is slower than almost every existing regulation that exists. Leave it to Palm Coast to make everyone ride like grannies. I can PEDAL faster than that? That’s absolutely RIDICULOUS. I am all for reasonable regulations, this is NOT REASONABLE. I am NOT riding on the road where one of your crazy drivers can hit me?
Questionable choices says
So can I sue Palm Coast if I am hit by a car because of these rules?
Joe D says
In response to “K” and Jimbo XYZ (can’t believe we are on the SAME SIDE on this issue Jimbo!)
Thoughts: what have other communities done to deal with the safety issue? Please don’t spend tax money REINVENTING THE WHEEL (pun intended)…DO YOUR RESEARCH, before you have an ordinance that is overly restrictive, vague, and difficult or $$$ to enforce!
I FULLY AGREE with the helmets on youthful e-bike riders…there should be a school administration notification (maybe with cellphone video) sent to the school regarding REGULAR BIKERS without helmets! Then maybe a “letter” home to the parents regarding the LAWS about helmet use.
My first nursing job straight out of Penn States’ BS Nursing program was the Johns Hopkins Hospital Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery inpatient unit…brain tumors, developmental disorders and HEAD INJURIES…that was back in 1977…before helmet laws for bikes went into effect… the number of bike/vehicle injuries was enormous…and frequently with a sad outcome even if the biker was not outright KILLED during the accident.
Additionally:
As I had PLANNED on buying an e-trike ( some of my post heart attack and bypass surgery medications affect my BALANCE…so a two wheeled e-bike might not be my best choice for safety). My intended use was for short food store visits and pharmacy trips (and I’m a bit embarrassed to say an occasional Macdonald’s run)…”over the bridge.” There are no ( or few) dedicated bike lanes in Flagler Beach or Palm Coast, and I wouldn’t put my life at risk riding in the road. That leaves the walkway!
A 10-20 mph speed can be achieved by a Manual bike rider. To limit an e-bike to 10 mph is kind of ridiculous. The commenter who suggested 15 mph might have the best compromise. And the limit on e-bike motor “power” is unfair. E-bikes slow up on HILLS (think the route 100 BRIDGE) , and with some e-bike riders being somewhat LARGER, they may need a higher powered bike to make the e-bike use practical.
You may want to adjust some of those restrictions on younger riders to address families riding together on E-bikes….maybe with mention of responsible parental or adult supervision within 10 (or whatever) feet of a younger rider.
I’m all for SAFETY …so as all these concerns are being discussed…please do not make a quick (but not well thought out) ordinance that serves neither e-bike riders nor the community.
Jason says
“ It is unclear why the Ring cameras that now leave few streets unsurveilled have not documented the alleged “Ninja” hooliganism. “
You are surely aware of the TikTok Door Knock Challenge that teens have been doing and how similar it is to his story?
I have a camera that faces the road and I capture all kinds of nonsense from kids and adults. But I’m not going to report things that aren’t crimes and neither are most other people unless you include those that complain about everything on the Nextdoor app all day.
Dave says
Congrats Jimbo!!You made it through a whole post without blaming Biden! Proud of ya!
Concerned Citizen says
We wouldn’t need more Deputies if the ones we had did their jobs.
I’m on the road a lot. Many times thru the day I spot them hanging out at various places. Parked sometimes 3 in a row. Pass by 45 min later and they are still there. I get that they are allowed breaks. But what if that same car parked for a bit on the side of the road to slow traffic down.
I also see them parked quite a bit over at the old Tennis Court on Palm Harbor. I guess that must be a high crime area. And needs a steady Police presence.Imagine what difference they might make sitting on Whiteview or even Belle Terre.
Finally. Before you start leaning on kids. Our own school bus drivers need lessons on the rules of the road. How do you expect kids to follow. When not leading by example.
Surfgod says
Has anyone mentioned Class I, Class II, and Class III ebikes? Class I are pedal assist only and the motor stops adding power at 20mph. These are generally considered to be equivalent to a regular bike. Class II and Class III basically have throttle only or pedal assist and throttle options and both go over 20mph. I think the majority of issues are with Class II and Class III ebikes, the Surons and similar that are “motorcycles” with electric motors instead of combustion engines.
Ebike issues are happening all over the county and it would behoove the powers that be to research ordinances that are being applied elsewhere to better understand solution options.
PeachesMcgee says
Everyone who lives in Flagler county knows that there is no targeted traffic enforcement.
With no speed limits on the trails, it’ll make the trails extremely dangerous for families, animals, and regular bike riders.
Will Waite says
We’ve had the regulations for a very long time.
Motor + Bicycle = MOTORCYCLE (electric motor in this case).
Calling a cat a horse doesn’t make it a horse. We have slipped into minority rule. Pull your heads out…
Alex says
And that’s what happens when dumbass kids ruining for everybody
James says
… Will Waite
Open carry + Florida = Death
Truth says
Well this is incredibly asinine. A child can easily pedal faster then 10 mph
Sid says
Typical asinine sherriff and his posse of elderly sit at home amchair sherrifs make more rules.
While our local Sheriff’s hide under Farnsworth cellphone tower or just off Old Kings electrical facility. More rules, government enforcement and let’s hire more cops to arrive after the fact.
JokesOnYou says
I understand keeping our children safe, but this is laughable too. Who’s going to enforce it? This is nothing but another wasted piece of paper it’s written on. Very much like Palm Coast.
RWBoggess says
Anonymous is so right on. It has nothing to do with e-bikes, per se. It comment sense and safety for all bikes and motorized vehicles. And if James is right, why are FCSO deputies spending more time on I-95 then on the streets of Flagler County? The interstate is the responsibility of Florida Highway Patrol (when they are not engaged in ICE responsibilities).
I am going to say at this point based on the number of responses here, that most people think this proposed ordinance is not going to be any more enforced than any other traffic ordinance (reactive vs. proactively enforced). So here is my compromise. Increase the speed to no more than 20 mph and have the ordinance automatically sunset in four years giving enough time to see how much of an issue this is and if it is being enforced. If it is not enforced or is not an issue, the ordinance automatically disappears; if it an issue or enforced and there is data to prove it, then the future city commission can elect to renew the ordinance with or without modifications.
As an alternative, require the Sheriff to provide the statistics, concerning Palm Coast (not Flagler County) that supports his position and present them for the public to see and get the public’s view of the issue.
Chad says
As an E-bike owner and rider I agree with the regulations proposed by the city. E-bike technology has evolved as all electric vehicles have. Many “bikes” now exceed 30, 40, 50 mph with aftermarket upgrades sold on eBay and Amazon. No one should be riding any kind of bike on the sidewalk where people walk over 10mph. Ebike riders should be thankful that we are allowed to ride on the sidewalk under any circumstance. Ebikes being ridden by children should be regulated, for their safety, if not grandma’s safety walking on the sidewalk. Florida has amazing bike trails with a 20mph speed limit for all bikes e-bike or not, and a vast bike lane system to accommodate bicyclists there is no need to be greedy at the expense of cars, pedestrians or even traditional bicyclists.
Chad says
“My biggest question is how effective will the enforcement be?” (From previous comments)
Right now law enforcement has few tools to go after the “bad ones” doing wheelies down the street and causing trouble. Law enforcement is not going to target adults riding responsibly, they are going to use this to go after hooliganism and packs of preteens and kids being dangerous. Are some adults riding dangerously yes, and they should be held responsible as well.