I'll speak up here, as an avid urban bike rider.
Already bike lanes are used by multiple kinds of vehicles: bikes, of
course, but also e-bikes, electric scooters, hover boards, segways,
skate boards, and just about any personal mobility device you can
imagine.
So, the question isn't really whether bike riders would comfortably
share bike paths with various electric vehicles. I think two factors are
important
1. speed
2. size
On speed, in Seattle, e-bikes are limited to 20mph (you can go faster,
but not with assist). That's amply fast and, so far, seems to be ok. My
personal opinion is that other forms of EVs could use bike paths if they
are limited to 20 mph. But that only works if the density is low.
Imagine if you have a child riding, who hasn't yet developed good
situational awareness. A moderately heavy object at 20 mph is enough to
kill the child. So, I don't really have a good answer on speed.
On size, it gets more argumentative. Bikes are relatively narrow, and
can pass or be passed without too much extra space. Same for scooters,
skate boards, etc. If we get small, enclosed EVs that are 3-4' wide they
may literally fit in a bike lane but completely hog it. I can see that
being strongly looked down on. On the other hand, if someone were to
design a wind and weather shell which was no wider than the handle bars
of a road bike, it might be ok.
And, like for any subject, there are as many opinions as people. I don't
know how others would react. All I know is that the current sharing
situation seems to be ok with most people.
Peri
<< Annoyed by leaf blowers ? https://quietcleanseattle.org/ >>
------ Original Message ------
From: "EV List Lackey via EV" <ev@lists.evdl.org>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <ev@lists.evdl.org>
Cc: "EV List Lackey" <evp...@drmm.net>
Sent: 09-Sep-22 14:14:34
Subject: Re: [EVDL] opinion: smaller evs ?
On 9 Sep 2022 at 14:21, Gary Krysztopik via EV wrote:
If we could greatly expand protected bike paths we could introduce all kinds
of micro EVTMs like the ELF, PEBL, Twike, Podride and so many more for simple
efficient local transportation.
Do you think that bike riders would accept without a fuss opening bike paths
to small enclosed or partly enclosed EVs, especially ones with no pedals?
That isn't a rhetorical question. Although I ride an E-bike, I'm not a part
of that community, so I have no clue. I do seem to recall having read years
ago that some of the more purist pedalers looked askance at e-bikes and
their owners.
David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey
To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my
offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt
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