The City Council is trying to put the brakes on electric bikes.
After receiving complaints about the power-assisted bicycles running red lights and speeding on sidewalks, lawmakers are set to introduce a bill to hike fines for individuals using e-bikes recklessly, lawmakers said Thursday.
“These bikes are illegal to begin with. Fines for violations should be greater,” Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan), the main sponsor of the bill, said as he unveiled the proposal at a news conference in Sunnyside.
“There are not enough fines being issued,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), a co-sponsor of the bill. “And they’re not steep enough to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Van Bramer called the careless e-bikers an “epidemic.”
But some e-bike advocates said the legislation stigmatizes a promising transportation option.
“They’re criminalizing e-bikes,” said Caroline Samponaro of the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.
The bill is “misguided,” she said, noting that power-assisted bicycles make “biking a realistic option for lots of people.”
City and state laws prohibit the use of electric bikes in the city. The Council cannot make the Police Department to increase enforcement, Garodnick said, but it can increase penalties for offenses.
The bill would increase the fine for riding on the sidewalk from $100 to $200 and the fine for running a red light from a maximum of $450 to $900, Garodnick said.
Many pedestrians welcomed the proposal.
“I’ve seen people get hit, but the guy just jumps back on his bike and drives off into the sunset,” said retired concierge John Carroll, 79, of Sunnyside.
The bikes make sidewalks unsafe for pedestrians, said Sunnyside resident Patty Elston, 63.
“Elderly people can’t get out of the way fast enough,” she said. “There’s a huge potential for accidents.”
E-bike advocates argue the zippy bikes offer a gas-free mode of transport popular with commuters and food delivery workers.
Francisco Duran, 34, of Long Island City, said he rides his e-bike to work every day.
“If people follow bike laws it’s not dangerous,” said Duran, who noted his bike tops out at 18 mph.
The manager of a soon-to-open e-bike shop in Sunnyside shook his head when told of the proposed bill.
“The riders don’t have the money to pay the fines,” said the manager, who only gave his last name Chen. “They won’t buy the bikes.”
