The Grand Haven City Council passed resolutions this week to amend ordinances to both include and restrict e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-skateboards.

According to Chief of Public Safety Nicole Hudson, the uptick in these modes of transportation has prompted the need to put parameters in place, especially in areas of high pedestrian traffic.

Currently, skateboards are the only wheeled devices not allowed on the boardwalk. With the amendments, e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-skateboards will no longer be permitted on the boardwalk, or on sidewalks along Washington Avenue between Harbor Avenue and Third Street, or within the 100 block of Washington Avenue when the street is closed to traffic.

Battery-powered devices still can be used on the roadways in these areas, just not on the sidewalks.

The ban will be in effect annually from the last weekend in May through Labor Day. The rest of the year, feel free to rev up those batteries and ride in those areas until your heart’s content.

And for those not using a method of transport that requires a charge—think bikes that require pedaling and scooters that need a foot to the pavement—the changes won't affect you. Nor will the changes affect those using power-driven mobility devices defined by the ADA. You all can ride wherever.

Hudson explained that the amended ordinances will improve pedestrian safety in high-volume tourist areas, give officers clear enforcement authority, and align the City ordinances with current Michigan law.

In addition to restricting where electric modes of transport can be used, the amended ordinances also will restrict how they (or a bicycle, skateboard, roller skates, or in-line skates) can be used. None of the aforementioned can be used in an intentionally "reckless, careless, or negligent manner that causes, or reasonably could cause, injury to the operator, another person, or damages property."

Hudson said the changes are just the beginning. Public Safety will branch out slowly with enforcement and parameters, notifying the public through social media and additional signage. For those wondering why Public Safety is choosing the route of a summer ban as opposed to establishing a speed limit on the boardwalk and designated sidewalks, Hudson said a speed limit would be too difficult to enforce.
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During the Council discussion, members appreciated addressing what increasingly has become a safety concern throughout Grand Haven. They talked about how kids who aren’t yet of driving age are traveling along sidewalks at fifteen, twenty miles per hour and higher, with little awareness of road signs or driveways.

Council members were quick to say that they want people to continue to use and enjoy the boardwalk and downtown, but if having parameters around electric modes of transportation save one life, they will be well worth the time and expense.

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