VERO BEACH — Vero Beach has approved new regulations governing electric bicycles, aiming to reduce conflicts among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists as e-bike use increases across the city.
Mayor John Cotugno said the issue has been building for some time, driven by public concern and repeated reports of dangerous encounters.
“We’ve had too many close calls, near misses. We’ve had a number of concerned citizens calling City Hall, the Police Department, etc., wondering if there’s any constraints on the operation of electric bicycles,” Cotugno said.
The ordinance places new limits on where e-bikes can be operated, directing riders away from sidewalks and into bicycle lanes when traffic conditions permit.
“These bicycles have the ability to exceed 20 miles an hour, depending on the classification, which is spelled out in the ordinance,” Cotugno said. “In Florida, you’re allowed to operate these bicycles on sidewalks, as you know, and the issue here is operating this type of vehicle on a sidewalk. In reality, it shouldn’t.”
City leaders also moved to regulate who may operate e-bikes, setting a minimum age and clarifying expectations for how riders interact with other road users.
“Very similar to golf carts, you know, there’s always been some issues about golf carts and who’s operating these golf carts, so we put a restriction on who can operate them,” Cotugno said.
Under the new policy, enforcement will begin with education rather than immediate penalties, though citations may follow repeated violations.
“It goes into effect immediately, and normally how we would do this is people will be warned first, and then hopefully they’ll understand why we’re doing it,” Cotugno said. “Then from there on, they’ll be ticketed if it does occur.”
The ordinance also expands beyond e-bikes, requiring skateboarders to follow right-of-way rules and mandating helmets for riders 16 and younger.
The local changes come as e-bike injuries have increased nationwide. A University of California, San Francisco study found e-bike injuries doubled each year between 2017 and 2022.
On the Treasure Coast, several crashes involving e-bikes have resulted in serious injury or death, including one in Port St. Lucie in November of last year.