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the_falconator t1_iw2kvag wrote

You can't, the state passed a law allowing ebikes on bike paths.

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Flashbulb_RI t1_iw42yh7 wrote

I don't think they are allowed on the paths maintained by RIDOT. Do you have a source for the law you are referring to?

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Double_Farmer_2662 t1_iw2pnfi wrote

Most ebike assist cut out at 25mph, which is slower than some people ride a regular bike on the path. And the most people I see riding ebikes are either old, or just casually cruising. They definitely belong on the path, along with even escooters. I don’t necessarily agree with gas powered bikes on the path, but if they are riding safely, then I guess that’s okay. I think if the bike path as the highway for non cars. A lot of people use it to commute because it’s safer, so I can’t blame them for using an ebike on the path instead of the road.

To be fair, I see a lot of people doing dangerous risky stuff walking, running, and riding. Not looking, letting dogs go on long leashes, swearing randomly, not moving over, etc. I’ve been almost bitten by a dog because “they aren’t used to roller blades.” Okay well maybe don’t bring your dog then??

Unfortunately bike paths with be hard to regulate, but I think everyone can benefit from just better awareness and courtesy for everyone.

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brick1972 t1_iw2tgks wrote

As with our entire society, it's the whole thing where the 5% of people being assholes fuck it up for the 95%.

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VerticalTwin t1_iw2xevy wrote

As a bike commuter you are incorrect about speed. My top speed with all my work gear is 11mph on the flat, I have not seen an ebike get passed by a regular bike. I have been passed by a scooter that was moving 2x my speed. I think speed is the issue,and this includes the tour de france guys. We need to share the path, and make way for slower individuals like kids,strollers,walkers etc. It's not a highway

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Double_Farmer_2662 t1_iw2yakd wrote

I have literally passed ebikes on my bike, so you can’t say that it doesn’t happen. Not all ebikes are going 25. Yes my whole point was that it’s not an ebike problem. There’s always going to be people going to fast, or passing people unsafely. I’ve seen rollerbladers pass people carelessly. It’s about using the path safely and knowing the path is for everyone

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Double_Farmer_2662 t1_iw31msj wrote

Not all ebikes look like the chunky spin bikes, there are a ton of them, especially in the summer time, near warren and bristol that people are renting to use to stroll down to the beach, visit shops and restaurants. Those are still electric assist, and the people are usually going like maybe 8mph.

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josie-gg t1_iw35afk wrote

I can go faster than 11mph on my longboard 🤨

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Grand_Profession_207 t1_iw3w319 wrote

I can run faster than 11 mph. For much more than a few miles? Probably not, but that’s besides the point.

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sailri t1_iw4ijqn wrote

Tour de France guys, which is sexist, would be over 30. If you’re doing 11 and think a bike on a bike path doing say 22 is a problem to solve then you are the problem.

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HighPlainsDrifting t1_iw37of7 wrote

Weapons grade Karen material trying to get bikes banned from bike paths lol

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Opticalpopsicle1074 t1_iw3a407 wrote

I take issue with this. My boyfriend has an e-bike because he is disabled and an amputee that’s the only bike he can have, otherwise I ride alone and can’t have him with me just because he can’t ride a regular bike? I don’t think so. He’s not running anyone over, we are not very fast. We are not setting any speed records, just trying to get some exercise and fresh air. On the other hand some regular non-electric bikes have people going like a million mph, training for the Tour De France especially in Western Coventry where there’s not many stops.

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March_Latter t1_iw2iug2 wrote

I have seen a huge amount of Ebikes on the East Bay bike path. I think its being allowed due to it being green.

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UncleJimmee t1_iw2nlq7 wrote

no it is because ebikes are considered bikes not motorized vehicles

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March_Latter t1_iw2qcbw wrote

Not wanting to split hairs but there is an electric motor in those things.

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UncleJimmee t1_iw2qts9 wrote

agreed yes but ebikes legally (in terms of where they're allowed) fall under bikes not motorized vehicles (like dirt bikes, cars, golf carts).

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Cash50911 t1_iw2tzc5 wrote

Even small gas engines on a bike are considered non-motorized, I can't remember the exact engine size.... Many people who have lost a license due to a DUI will use a bike with a motor.

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RedditSkippy t1_iw2qoo6 wrote

And they are blasting down the bike path.

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sailri t1_iw4iype wrote

Great. Hope they have fun. No speed limits. There are however illegal stop signs place by civilians.

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Aeronaute t1_iw3oryi wrote

e-bikes are accessability aids, and legally that same as bikes in most places. Campaign against unsafe riding styles, regardless of propulsion, and leave the e-bikes alone.

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wyldweasil t1_iw2ndpn wrote

Actually there are signs saying no motorized vehicles, one by the parking lot by Manville dam. Just remember, signs mean nothing if there's no enforcement

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sailri t1_iw4is0j wrote

And it’s a DOT issue to enforce, not a local police issue to enforce.

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wyldweasil t1_iw4l10o wrote

Neither would enforce. You'd call the cops and what they'd be there like 20-30 minutes after seeing the guy on a motorcycle riding up the path? RIDOT would care even less

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Fine_Ad_4206 t1_iw2yuvs wrote

It’s a BIKE path they have priority over feet lol

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td0g10 t1_iw2m8a8 wrote

Thanks for letting me know about the E bikes situation. I just read that it is based on each area. They are allowed by default.

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-steeltoad- t1_iw3953n wrote

You do realize that people can and do drive fast and reckless on conventional bikes

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sailri t1_iw4j4t9 wrote

Or fast but not reckless.

Here’s the deal. If you are walking and surprised by a bike going 16 mph. It’s you, not them.

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saucyB52 t1_iw3seal wrote

im reminded of that simpsons episode where Homer goes crazy with getting road signs installed all over the place, and after its all said n done theres nothing but road signs for as far as the eye cansee

im sure a dude on a motorcycle riding the bike path will get a little thrill knowwing he had a hand in getting a sign in his honor as he wheelies past it

no more signs

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brick1972 t1_iw2t7wt wrote

There is a whole giant thing about how ebikes are making life worse not better for cyclists because of the top speeds and encouraging a preponderance of idiots who know nothing about how to handle a bike. I know the usual pedestrian and car crowds would say that is all cyclists but there is often a real difference.

I put ebikes in the same category as the motorized scooters. They straddle two types of transportation and our infrastructure is not really designed to accommodate them well, and the only real way to resolve it is to give a lot less room to cars, but that will literally never happen until I guess there are flying cars and only the poor people will be at street level anyway or whatever.

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huron9000 t1_iw4azym wrote

E-bikes and e-scooters should be allowed on bike paths. These small motorized vehicles are no more prone to reckless operation than their non-motorized equivalents.

Motorization is not the issue. Speed and recklessness are. By far the most dangerous thing I’ve seen on the east bay bike path has been the road bike racers hauling through at pretty high speed.

The original post comes off as a puritanical complaint, as if the OP is just mad that some people are moving apparently without exercising their bodies enough.

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sailri t1_iw4jppf wrote

Not true at all. The problem is walkers think that they should not have to pay attention to the normal speed of traffic, as if the speed limit, of which there is none, should be adjusted downward for their piece of mind.

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huron9000 t1_iw55ivx wrote

What’s not true? I agree that walkers on these paths need to be alert and aware of other modes of transport they are sharing a space with. I never said otherwise.

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sailri t1_iw58pxc wrote

What’s not true? Speed is not a problem. Recklessness is not the problem. We could send a paceline of 100 cyclists at 18 mph riding conservatively by 1 walker per all 15 miles of the path. Safe speed. Safe riders. 15 complaints from walkers or parents with six year old kids on bikes or moms walking side by side pushing carriages. Those 100 cyclists on a road would result in the same complaints from those same 15 walkers driving home, except the complaint would be they’re driving too slow on the road and taking up too much space.

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huron9000 t1_iw5ct2q wrote

Your comments dodge the gist of my initial comment, which was that a bike or scooter being motorized does not make it inherently more dangerous on a bike path, it is all how the vehicle is operated.;

But regardless, speed itself isn’t the problem, it is speed differentials. And I have seen bike dudes jam through crowded bike path conditions at way more than 18 mph. Like, try 30+ mph.

And yes, you are right that clusters of clueless pedestrians sprawling across the width of the bike path are a real problem. I never said they weren’t.

I was drawing a distinction between motorized and non-motorized bikes, and that non-motorized ones are capable, and in my experience more likely, of causing a problem of speed differentials among users.

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Left_Recognition7043 t1_iw3ou03 wrote

Yea my buddy’s ebike is a surron and he can go over 55 in it and it by law is entirely legal to ride unlicensed anywhere. He can beat my 2 stroke 125sx ktm in certain areas. So just because it’s an “ebike” doesn’t mean it’s not just as dangerous as someone riding a dirt bike or motorcycle on the path.

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Flashbulb_RI t1_iw42447 wrote

The laws vary state by state. Your Buddy cant ride that bike "unlicensed anywhere". eBikes come in different speed classes and the applicable laws vary by class.

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Left_Recognition7043 t1_iw4jgo9 wrote

Okay. Anywhere in my state of Rhode Island in which this whole conversation sprung..

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Flashbulb_RI t1_iw5uvyh wrote

Most legislation revolving around eBikes are for class 1, 2 or 3 ebikes. The Surron is outside of those 3 classes so their legal status is questionable or illegal.

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Flashbulb_RI t1_iw5v4xt wrote

In addition if you hurt someone on one of those fast bikes and you're uninsured you are leaving yourself open to huge $$$ liabilities.

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[deleted] OP t1_iw2tqpm wrote

[deleted]

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-steeltoad- t1_iw39wie wrote

To be clear, you're saying that people on conventional bikes or on foot should not be using the bike path either, if they're trying to get somewhere faster ?

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FoleyisGood t1_iw3dmza wrote

doesn't sound at all like what he is saying. i think he is saying the people on motorized bikes are driving too fast and too dangerous on the bike path. I agree. But "regular" cyclists also ride too fast and too dangerous on the path. Last week some man-child screamed at me and someone else because he had to slow down to pass us, and we weren't even in the way.

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sailri t1_iw4j9uc wrote

Their motivation is to enjoy a ride on the path. No more no less.

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jstockdi t1_iw2jync wrote

Probably easier and cheaper to just make an official looking sign and post it.

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sailri t1_iw4jtch wrote

There already is a pair of fake Stop signs at Poppasquash Rd

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