Parks, Recreation Code Amendments

What problem is this new ordinance trying to solve? I use the MUP in Sierra Vista all the time and have for many years and I've not seen any issues related to eBikes that would give rise to making a new ordinance that restricts their use. Making new laws needlessly is overreaching and overbearing. They say this new ordinance is to replace the previous ordinance that limits speed to 15 mph. As an owner of several mountain bikes, road bikes, and a Class 2 electric cargo bike that I use to haul groceries and transport my kid around town (on the MUPs), I can assure you my road bike, and in many cases my MTB's, can go a lot faster than 15 mph and a lot faster than my eBike. The benefit of an eBike is that I can haul groceries and my kid around town in a convenient manner. Making new laws just for the sake of making new laws is some California malarky.

Sierra Vista does NOT have the infrastructure to allow any bike, of any classification, to travel safely on the road with traffic. E-bikes of all classes should be allowed to continue use of the same paths as non E-bikes.

As a lifelong bicycle rider I now own an e bike because I'm older and I live in Whetstone. When I'm required to ride to Sierra Vista the ebike helps me save gas. Your streets have been a nightmare to a bicycle rider for a long time and made us all moving targets. I was a part of your bicycle commission for a short period of time. You need to consider going 28 miles an hour on an ebike is usually downhill. I myself have never gotten up to 28 miles an hour. The fastest I've gotten up to is going downhill into lower HC with NO assist! You should worry more about the DUI lawn mower engine jobs! I respect ALL others riders on the bike paths and risk my life on WEST Avineda Cochise, Willcox and Fry Blvd. Wear your helmets!

As a lifelong bicycle rider I now own A&E bike because I'm older and I live in wetstone. When I'm required to ride to Sierra Vista the ebike helps me save gas. Your streets have been a nightmare to a bicycle rider for a long time and made us all moving targets. I was a part of your bicycle commission for a short period of time and you need to consider going 28 miles an hour on a knee bike is usually downhill. I myself have never gotten up to 28 miles an hour. The fastest I've gotten is on having no

Let's stop for a moment and think about the purpose of this law. Is it safety? Ostensibly. But I would argue the real purpose is to know who to blame in the case of an accident. With either a safety or a blame framing of the issue the 15 mph speed limit makes much more sense than a blanket ban on one type of conveyance. Traditional bikes traveling in excess of 15 mph are also dangerous. The ban justification that ebikes (or any bikes) do not have speedometers is silly. Bikes also do not come with helmets but there is a helmet law in place for children and owners are expected to make the additional purchase to be in compliance. Speedometers are available for under $20.

Instead of touting conformity to a poorly written state law, let's design local laws to accomplish local goals.

I have a physically and mentally disabled brother that we recently purchased an e bike for. It took him quite while to coordinate on it and now does well enough to ride it to and from work SAFLEY on the PATHS provided by the city. Forcing him off of the safe paths and onto the road to share with cars wouldn't be seriously dangerous for him. Please reconsider allowing ebikes on the paths

This is ridiculous. Where are they supposed to ride? Fix the roads. Stop the drugs.

This seems dumb. I am curious how you would enforce a ban on class 3 e-bikes on city bike paths. You cannot necessarily distinguish a 1 from a 3 visually. I would not appreciate being harassed because someone doesn't understand which type of bike I have. If you must do something put in a speed limit. Not that I've ever seen anyone speeding on the paths, given how vigilant one has to be at every intersection (having the right of way being meaningless).

Please leave the rule the same. I ride the MUPs around Sierra Vista frequently and have never seen excessive speed. In fact, it's good to see all the people on bikes, including e-bikes, on the paths. Let's keep encouraging riding

I ride a road bike several times a week. I have ridden most of the multiuse pathways at various times from around Cochise College to the Ramsey Canyon road area. I have seen some, not many, electric assist bicycles but I have never seen any of them going so fast as to create a safety issue for other cyclists or pedestrians. In fact, every bicycle that I have seen that was going "fast" was a non-assist one.

I suspect that electric assist bikes will be almost predominantly used by the elderly and this group would be hard pressed to get their bike going fast enough to present a problem. As our population here in Sierra Vista ages, I expect that electric assist bikes will become more prevalent but even so, my feeling is that getting us old folks out on a bicycle, even an electric one, is a good thing for general health considerations and makes Sierra Vista more attractive to retirees.

This is asinine. There's no issue that I'm aware of currently with motorized vehicles on the paths. What about elderly folks who can't otherwise get around?

Please, we don't need to fix things that aren't broken. Put a speed limit if you want. Don't put the city at risk of lawsuits because you move bikes off the multi use paths and on to the street.

The proposal to amend the City of Sierra Vista code to prohibit class 3 electric (assist) bicycles from using the City maintained multiuse paths and trails is problematic. Class 3 electric (assist) bicycles only help the cyclist by providing an ‘assist’ while pedaling which cuts out at 28 mph. Most of the cyclists using this type of bike are enthusiasts who are aged or disabled and find that a non-electric bicycle is outside of their ability to use anymore. Some of the class 3 cyclists have invested in the e-bike to commute and/or get away from using an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle to make short trips around town. The prohibition on allowing class 3 pedal assist e-bikes on the multi-use paths and trails will greatly impact the ability of these user to safely navigate Sierra Vista.

The City has invested in building multi-use paths adjacent to some of the busiest and highest speed roadways including Hwy 92 south from Fry to Buffalo Solider Trail (where the speed limits are 45mph from Fry to Greenbrier and 55 mph from Greenbrier to Buffalo Soldier Trail and the shoulder is non-existent), Buffalo Solider Trail to Golf Links (50mph), Hwy 90 bypass from BST to Seventh Street (55mph), Avenida Cochise between Hwy 92 and Coronado Dr (45mph), and Snyder from Hwy 92 to Avenida Del Sol (35mph). Most of those roadways have no dedicated bike lane and some have curbing forcing the cyclists to use the vehicle travel lane.
As a class 3 e-bike loses its pedal assist at 28mph, it becomes obvious that the cyclists are now moving much slower than vehicular traffic, creating a greater hazard for both roadway users.

The proposed code change does not prohibit class 1 or class 2 e-bikes as the original proposal was only for a 15-mph speed limit and those classes do not have speedometers (the class 3 does). Non-e bikes are capable of the speeds of class 3 e-bikes dependent of the rider but are not prohibited. By singling out the class 3 e-bike and no other multiuse path user (class 1, class 2 or non-e-bike) the city has created an unequal division under their authority based solely on the theoretical speed of a class 3 e-bike.

In my opinion, if there is a need for any type of codified intervention based on pedestrian/cyclist interactions, it needs to be equal across the board. Instead of banning one class of e-bike, perhaps creating a 20-mph speed limit which all three classes of e-bikes could adhere to as well as non-electric bikes? To help with the pedestrian-cyclist interactions, marking the ‘lanes’ of the multiuse paths would help guide pedestrians from using the whole path.

The City of Sierra Vista has made great strides in the last 23 years that I have lived here in making it a more cycling friendly community. Why disenfranchise part of the community by relegating them back into the busy roadways?

I’m not sure that putting e-bikes on the highway/street is safe. Not sure why the 15 mph is not working. There are non motorized bikes that can go way above 15mph. What is the actual problem that is needing to be solved? How many complaints/encounters are therethat necessitates this change?

I think this is an important change to insure that excessive speeds do not exist in our parks, but at the same time not restricting and limiting/banning a popular type of vehicle.