Written by the reviewer from the ASR + docket; [verbatim-ASR] = quoted machine transcript; [paraphrase] = reviewer's wording, not a quote.
0:00 All right, I will call to order the July 6th meeting of the Housing Planning and Development
0:10 A couple items on the agenda.
0:12 First, approval of the minutes from the June 29th to July 26th meeting of the Housing
0:16 Planning and Development Committee.
0:18 I'll make a motion to approve.
0:23 This is our quorum right now, so that passes.
0:29 Next order of business, update to code amendments regarding bike infrastructure, specifically
0:36 at the time shared use code path code amendments kind of came out of the Buntz Road Project
0:44 as a way of how we're going to police and regulate that path, but this has quickly
0:49 grown into a much larger issue that's affecting all the parts of infrastructure in the city,
0:56 not just shared use paths, sidewalks and roads as well in regards to e-mobility devices,
1:04 bikes and scooters specifically.
1:05 I know myself this is something that's really been problematic over the last year
1:13 as the explosion of these devices has really, it's just gone crazy.
1:17 There's so many more, and so happy to start this discussion today.
1:23 Wish we had somebody from the police here, but I believe I will turn this over to Assistant
1:31 Director Boss who has some slides to walk through, and then we can have a discussion
1:39 Thank you, Councilman, President, Vice President, I appreciate the opportunity to come in.
1:45 I can just provide, I will try to be quick, but this is not, I think as the introduction
1:52 kind of inferred, this is an effort that's kind of branched over time as it's tried
2:00 to get its arms just around the complexity, the growing and increasing complexity issue.
2:06 I think you're all aware, any time that we update our code, especially with kind
2:12 of spot corrections or updating, we try to nest whatever corrections are with Ohio
2:18 revised code, and so I will point out as we kind of go through this, where I've been
2:26 able to be like, in a lot of these instances, working with the case board on these, the
2:33 option was, do we keep what we have, or do we look to adopt what ORC has, or do
2:40 we define our own thing?
2:42 You can always go your own direction, but it is more difficult when you don't
2:46 nest with ORC because you're kind of going out on a limb, especially when you start
2:52 talking about enforceability, law enforcement, and things that if Lakewood has unique code,
2:59 it does make it harder, I think, for them.
3:03 But based on the complexity of this, so I had broken this down into three parts.
3:10 We have gotten through one of them so far in two meetings with the case.
3:15 It just shows you the detail of the discussion, and the amount of work the case members
3:21 in the discussion has put into this, and it's all been very good.
3:26 So I think we've kind of arrived at a good, at least a good point with the definitions,
3:33 This was what was provided to you back in November.
3:39 It was an update that was intended to kind of bring the code up to speed with
3:45 some of the ORC updates that have happened over time, updated some definitions, but we
3:52 really weren't looking to do a total overhaul of the bike and motorcycle code.
3:59 The introduction of some regulations for shared use pass was built on some of the,
4:06 I will just say the resident input that we had gotten up to that point with the
4:10 Buntz project, which admittedly was a little bent in one direction.
4:16 And so the interaction with the case board, I think, has been very valuable in that
4:20 to bring in a lot of different perspectives.
4:23 And you'll hear from them hopefully tonight, and you'll likely continue to hear from
4:27 them because there there are a ton of perspectives from a million different directions on this
4:32 in terms of what should be allowed where, and ultimately that's what makes this very
4:41 And I do like, and so I'll talk through that a little bit just to get into it.
4:46 But really to go back to the first part was we wanted to kind of pick what devices
4:53 or things do you want to define.
4:57 You have to define things that you will then regulate.
5:02 If you define something, typically there is an intention that later on you will
5:08 regulate it in some way, shape, or form.
5:10 So there's some kind of the progression of choices that we tried to walk in and help
5:14 the case board through on this.
5:16 And that's why it took a little bit longer.
5:17 It's taking a little bit longer to go through it.
5:19 But I think that the outcome is going to be good.
5:25 So that's that first part was talking about definitions.
5:29 So really the first change that we had in the November amendment was just to update
5:35 the definition of motorized bicycle.
5:39 So for whatever reason, Ohio Revised Code updated their definition of a motorized
5:43 bicycle, and a motorized bicycle is, you know, the common, it would be a moped.
5:48 If you're my age and you were the cool kid in middle school, you had a moped,
5:53 that's what this is.
5:54 It is a gas-powered device that has pedals on it.
6:01 And so that's, it's still, it's kind of an archaic definition.
6:05 It still defines things by a 50 cubic centimeter piston-driven engine.
6:10 So what ORC did was to differentiate it was they just put a statement at the end
6:18 of this that this does not mean electronic bicycles.
6:22 So in our conversation with CASE, and we'll get into our own kind of obsolete term,
6:30 which is mobility devices, in the direction that the recommendation of CASE was to go
6:34 to the new ORC definition, which is, I think it's low-speed micromobility devices.
6:40 So they wanted it, and that's why this is a little kind of back to the future.
6:44 But so in this definition for motorized bicycle, they wanted,
6:48 the recommendation was for CASE was to make sure that we differentiated both
6:52 electronic bicycles and low-speed micromobility devices from a motorized bicycle.
6:59 And there's reasons for that, but that's where we are right now,
7:03 just with the update, simply the update of the motorized bicycle definition.
7:08 So as we go through this, what you'll see is yellow generally is what we have now.
7:13 Blue were kind of the new options that the CASE board could consider.
7:17 And I put the red text in here is generally what the CASE recommended,
7:22 just to kind of code it.
7:26 So our current definitions right now, you can see there's mobility.
7:32 I just want, for clarification, I just wanted to ask about,
7:35 because when I hear mobility device, I think for accessibility for
7:41 people with disabilities, was that discussed as part of this discussion?
7:45 So yeah, I'll get into that here in a second.
7:49 Yeah, so mobility device, right, wrong, or indifferent, in 2019 when we
7:55 updated that, mobility device was the term for
7:59 the Ohio revised code that meant e-scooters and e-bikes at that point in time.
8:06 We used it, Cleveland used it, Cleveland still has it, we still have it.
8:11 But it does, to your point, Council President,
8:14 it does introduce a little bit of confusion.
8:19 It does have the kind of differentiator there of an assisted mobility device.
8:24 But even our own code talks about a motorized wheelchair,
8:28 which I have been told that is also kind of an obsolete or archaic term.
8:35 But this is kind of what we have right now.
8:37 We do have a definition for electronic bicycle.
8:40 We do have a definition for electric scooter.
8:44 So kind of the first question for the case board was this is,
8:48 do we retain mobility device at the top?
8:51 If so, with the red text there, if we do retain this,
8:55 is there a new term for that assisted mobility device, or do you pull that
8:59 out or something to kind of correct that issue?
9:02 You can see what Cleveland has right now, mobility device.
9:06 And then kind of the option, and what I got back from case is kind of the red,
9:10 hey we want this, we're checking this, is that generally case board agreed to align
9:18 with ORC and then provide a little bit of edits there.
9:21 So the current ORC definition for a low-speed micro-mobility device there is
9:26 that first box where it says current ORC.
9:30 What the case board liked, and we haven't finalized the language on this,
9:34 was that so Metro Parks also has the same definition,
9:37 but they tagged a kind of qualifying statement on there to say,
9:42 micro-mobility devices also include what the case board wanted us to say,
9:47 but not limited to, and then we can come up with a list of, you know,
9:53 the one-wheeled unicycles that are out there,
9:55 electric skateboards, and this list could be, it could go into perpetuity probably of,
10:02 but so we got to be, you got to be a little careful with that, but it does,
10:06 so whereas the definition for a motorized bicycle does not mean electronic bikes
10:11 or low-speed micro-mobility devices, this allows us to really help police officers
10:16 and people also as well as saying that this is what we mean by this,
10:20 and it could change, but do the best we can.
10:24 So that's the direction in terms of that, getting rid of our current mobility device,
10:28 going to the new Ohio definition for low-speed micro-mobility device.
10:33 So that, I will say, the way, and we may end up drafting this as this,
10:41 to my knowledge, this does not mean electric bicycle.
10:45 I will say that right now.
10:46 The way that our old mobility device meant both scooters and e-bikes,
10:51 this one is solely intended to be those things that are, you know, less than 100 pounds,
10:57 some e-bikes are more than 100 pounds, and we will get onto the definition of e-bikes,
11:03 but we're starting to go away from broad definitions
11:08 to more specific definitions about devices, which sometimes can be more difficult.
11:15 So then the question, do we retain our current electric bicycle definition,
11:19 which again, at the time in 2019, that's what ORC had.
11:24 Subsequently, they have now gone into the three different types of classes
11:27 of e-bikes and defining those.
11:31 If you read to those, the different classifications,
11:36 there's not a whole lot of difference with the exception of at what speed
11:41 and how much assistance and when the assistance is provided by the bike.
11:46 There's no difference in terms of the device, the engine that is less than 750 watts,
11:53 but it's basically at what speed the device provides or ceases to provide assistance.
12:00 And that's important because when you start to talk about the newer devices
12:06 that we're seeing right now that look like e-bikes but they're not e-bikes
12:10 or people are starting to realize that they're not e-bikes is
12:13 that that becomes a differentiator.
12:16 So the case board generally recommended that we go with the current ORC,
12:23 which is now shared by Cleveland, now shared by Metro Parks,
12:26 where we actually have the classifications of e-bikes in our code.
12:33 And then we talked about, and I think they recommended that we explore a definition
12:40 of electronic motorcycle, and that may or may not be the term.
12:44 But the problem with this, and it's going to take a little bit more work,
12:48 is that there is not a higher revised code definition
12:52 for an electric motorcycle right now.
12:54 And this is, these are neither newer devices, but generally what I recommended
13:00 in here is to come up with a very broad definition for a device
13:06 that has an electric motor that is basically more than 750 watts
13:11 and that provides assistance at speeds greater than 28 miles an hour.
13:15 That's what generally differentiates these things from an e-bike.
13:21 Some have pedals, some don't.
13:22 Some look like motorcycles, some don't.
13:25 Some look like dirt bikes, like, but generally these are the ones
13:29 that they are a lot more powerful.
13:33 They exceed the classifications that are in Ohio code right now
13:36 and so it's something to kind of set that aside for right now, but to identify it.
13:43 And that's where we talked a lot about kind of the different types of devices.
13:47 So these are some products from ODOT in the state of Ohio that talk
13:51 about the different types of e-bikes.
13:55 Now we'll get into the, you know, part two talks about, okay,
13:59 now that you've defined all these devices,
14:01 now are you going to regulate where they can operate?
14:04 So the state of Ohio, generally you read through these things like class three e-bikes
14:09 are generally not permitted on shared use paths that are adjacent to a roadway.
14:13 So the state and a lot of other municipalities are kind of starting
14:16 to mark off a difference now that you've defined these things,
14:20 how are you going to treat them differently?
14:22 So we're going to talk about that in a minute.
14:26 The biggest thing, now I'm getting to some of the national stuff.
14:29 I'm a huge fan of MDOT in Maryland.
14:31 They're usually kind of a couple years ahead of everybody else
14:34 on regulations, so Maryland does require, and other states do too,
14:38 but Maryland requires stickers to be affixed
14:41 to any e-bike that's sold in the state.
14:44 The battery has to have a UL certification sticker and then the bike itself has
14:50 to have a classification sticker there that you see on the left side of the box,
14:53 the class one, class two, class three, on the device.
14:57 Just to help law enforcement or whoever to identify
15:00 up close what the device is that's there.
15:04 And then this is from League of American Cyclists just to try to educate people
15:10 on things that, you know, these kind of look like e-bikes, but they're not.
15:15 I mean, this is a 1,500 watt engine on some of these things.
15:19 So that's twice the power of a class three e-bike.
15:24 And so there are kids that have these in Lakewood.
15:28 They're zooming around on them.
15:30 And so these are what we would classify, you know, and the state hasn't defined it,
15:35 but I would consider these to be an electronic motorcycle based on their capability.
15:40 So this is kind of, if we took the 80s when I was in middle school to now,
15:47 this is kind of like the new moped of like the cool kid
15:51 that has the moped that's out there.
15:53 We could take a quick pause for a question.
15:57 Thank you, Chair Evans.
15:57 Yeah, I was just going to comment that I've seen these, I swear I've seen a few kids riding
16:05 around on the one that looks on the left, the blue one.
16:08 And they're riding around and they're going fast.
16:12 I was on Franklin and going maybe 30 and they probably were going probably about 40, 45.
16:19 So I think we definitely need to be looking at defining these and having some sort
16:26 of legislation around that.
16:30 So and that exactly to your point, Council Member, that's the danger of these
16:35 is that they're not speed regulated.
16:37 They provide assistance to speeds that typically would exceed the speed limit
16:42 on just about every street in Lakewood.
16:45 Even a class three e-bike at 28 miles an hour is going to, you know,
16:48 I think that per the definition it cuts off at that speed.
16:52 So even if you're riding on Clifton, it's not going to continue
16:55 to unless you're pushing really hard to get up and above 35 miles an hour.
17:01 But that's where when we talk about potentially regulating these or defining these
17:06 as an electronic motorcycle, because they look like a million different things.
17:10 But if they're in that where that engine is higher than an e-bike
17:14 and provides assistance beyond the capability of an e-bike, kind of like a moped
17:20 in the 80s, you had to have a license, a classified license.
17:25 You had to wear a helmet.
17:27 Like there were regulations that came along with having
17:30 and the responsibilities with having that device.
17:32 Personally, I kind of see that drawing the line between those devices now,
17:37 even though a motorized bicycle in the 1980s is kind of you just don't see them anymore
17:44 unless you're at like a classic car rally or something, I don't know.
17:47 But these things are the new mopeds.
17:53 So some communities have tried and started to push some stuff out.
17:56 I've had a lot of discussions with the police department.
18:00 They're trying to get some messaging out, but we haven't gotten through this yet.
18:04 We haven't defined everything yet.
18:06 This is from Avon and they talk about, you know,
18:09 generally where things are allowed, where they're not.
18:12 It's a great graphic.
18:12 It's a little busy, but you can look at what they're wrestling with too.
18:17 You know, three different classes of e-bikes, the micromobility device,
18:22 that's the e-scooter there, and then this electric dirt bike or whatever, you know,
18:28 you want to call it electronic motorcycle or whatever that's out there.
18:32 And so, you know, they talk about the requirements, operating age requirement,
18:37 you know, for an electric dirt bike, they have a licensed driver 16 years or older.
18:42 So that's one direction that you could go with those as well.
18:47 So it's just an example of what some other communities are doing.
18:55 Case Board, one of the members, Emily Lindberg, sent in some pictures just
18:58 from the community and also other devices that for us to consider.
19:03 Like that's her white bike in the front, but there's also other bikes
19:07 that were parked at, I think that's one of the, is that an elementary school,
19:11 Emily, the high school?
19:13 Okay, so, and then you've got like recumbent bikes that can be harder
19:16 to see on the roadway, especially if there's not like a flag or something
19:22 on them that you see them, and then there's scooters that even have
19:26 like a deck on them on the bottom right where you got a parent who's riding one
19:29 of their kids to school on them, and so there's tons of devices out there.
19:38 I think the general consensus from the case is we do need
19:43 to also define kind of the new infrastructure, obviously.
19:46 I don't think that's a stretch, but Ohio Revised Code has definitions
19:50 for bikeways, shared use paths, bike lanes.
19:53 These did not exist in 2019, and so just pulling them in
19:56 so that we can properly define.
19:59 When you get to the next part, which is really talking
20:02 about all the different types of infrastructure in the community
20:06 and how do you regulate operation, I think that's kind of getting
20:11 to the heart of the question is that.
20:14 Now, for the case board, we walk through kind of all the different types of,
20:21 there's lots of paths in the parks.
20:23 There are different widths.
20:24 Some of them are delineated.
20:25 Some of them are not.
20:28 Shared use path out on Detroit Sloan.
20:32 This is the Bunt Road, Bunt's Road project.
20:36 There's the Lake Clifton project that's coming up,
20:39 and so lots of things to consider.
20:43 So as we get into part two, and this is kind of,
20:46 because we haven't really gotten into this with CASE yet,
20:48 we've had some preliminary discussions and lots of kind of,
20:52 people kind of throwing stuff out there and some recommendations.
20:55 What we did back in November was come up with a new section that talked
21:01 about operation of bicycles on, I think it was on shared use paths.
21:07 And so just like we have operation of bicycles on sidewalks
21:12 or operation on sidewalks, trying to come up with that new,
21:15 having a definition for a shared use path and recognizing that you may want
21:19 to see different operating regulations on that infrastructure.
21:24 So now we really haven't gotten into that discussion.
21:28 I know just based on the drafts that we provided, there's a lot of input,
21:33 and we do need to make some changes on that.
21:38 There is an existing code section that we have right now
21:41 that I do like to refer the police department and other folks to,
21:45 and it's called reckless operation.
21:48 It applies to all devices anywhere in the city.
21:52 And then our section in on riding on sidewalks, operation on sidewalks.
21:59 A lot of that applies to any device, doesn't matter what it is.
22:03 It could be something that somebody bought yesterday or a moped from 1977.
22:10 Operating on sidewalks, yielding to pedestrians, operating at appropriate speeds,
22:15 all of those things provide the basis for enforcement now.
22:19 And so I would argue that we have tools in our pockets right now
22:25 to regulate all the devices that we see right now.
22:29 But really the question that we've posed and had some discussions and given
22:34 to the case board is do we want to take these new definitions and now start
22:39 to regulate operation and park pass, shared use pass,
22:44 like start to differentiate those devices.
22:47 The last thing I will say is just we try to consider it.
22:50 I try to take the view of a police officer who's enforcing it.
22:55 It's very difficult to tell the difference between a class 3 and a class 1 e-bike
22:59 or a class 1 and e-bike and a bicycle.
23:03 I don't think it's realistic for a police officer to at 50 yards spot one
23:07 of those devices and know the difference.
23:10 And so to some members, and Emily is one of them on the case board,
23:14 I think she's talked more about rather than trying to regulate,
23:17 and I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, Emily, but rather than trying
23:21 to differentiate and say this device can't ride here, this device can only ride here,
23:27 is it should we take more of a holistic approach to just basic the rules
23:33 of the road and like proper operation of all devices, you know, on a shared use path,
23:40 all devices on a bike lane or something to that effect so that you're not putting police
23:45 and you're not putting expectations in the position of residents saying you're not supposed
23:50 to ride that there, you know, where's the police officer who's enforcing that
23:55 and the police officer like I can't tell the difference between that and a regular bike.
23:59 So because you don't want regulations also to be a barrier to people
24:03 to a senior citizen who needs an e-bike to go out and ride, and that gets them there.
24:10 But, you know, and then you say no e-bikes on shared use paths
24:13 and now you're taking that away from that person.
24:15 And so there's a careful balance.
24:17 And so I will, I think with that, I'll stop because I know there's public comment.
24:25 It's probably more valuable than what I'm saying right now.
24:27 So, but that's kind of where we're at right now.
24:30 I was looking forward to the next case meeting coming up.
24:32 We were going to get into the meat of that talking about operations and locations, so.
24:37 Thanks, Assistant Director Boss.
24:38 I mean, this is obviously a ton of work that you're undertaking and it's appreciated
24:43 and thank you as well to the case board who's working very diligently on this as well.
24:48 I know lots of us will have questions and comments.
24:52 I just wanted to pick up on the last two things you said.
24:55 I think the enforcement and also not putting in barriers where they shouldn't be
25:02 for folks who might actually need these devices to get around is extremely important.
25:07 So I'm happy you're really taking a serious look at that.
25:09 And then the second piece which is frustrating me right now is that when you said
25:14 that we do have the tools to regulate these things and it's just kind of seems
25:18 like we're not doing it at the moment.
25:20 And that's, these are the stories we're hearing.
25:23 I mean, I go to a business group or neighbors and like it seems
25:27 like every other person I see has been almost been hit by an e-scooter.
25:31 So one next, I think an immediate next step I think we can all take is to work
25:36 with the administration and the police department to put the rules we have out there now
25:40 so people understand isn't a free for all.
25:43 In a wild, wild west these things are all regulated but we're looking at ways
25:46 to maybe change what those regulations look like in detail.
25:51 But yeah, you can't drive or ride your scooter 30 miles an hour
25:55 down the sky sidewalk right now.
25:58 So I'll leave my comments right there for right now because I want
26:00 to give plenty of time to others and I know we have other folks
26:02 from the community to speak.
26:04 So I'll open it up to my colleagues.
26:06 I'll start with Councilman Baker as the other person from the committee.
26:10 Thank you and thank you, Mr. Director Paz.
26:14 These are our hard issues and any time you crack open part of the code,
26:18 then you realize all the other parts of the code that we need to update.
26:21 And so that's part of this.
26:22 So I do think that your suggestion, Chair, is a good one which is to say,
26:28 the reckless operation should be used today to address violations
26:33 that are unsafe on any sidewalk or street.
26:36 And I see it at Lakewood Park.
26:39 I see kids on essentially mopeds except they're not gas powered.
26:44 They're electric powered and they're going very fast
26:46 and through the playground where there's 5-year-olds
26:49 and 4-year-olds running around.
26:50 But I will applaud the administration in case
26:54 for the thoughtful consideration on these issues
26:57 because we are, and I think that the distinction that you've laid out
27:02 that seems to be coming from case which is Class 1 and Class 2,
27:09 you know, those are under 20, typically,
27:11 at least the electric powered part of it.
27:13 And the Class 3, maybe having an age limit but still not a driver's license
27:19 and then potentially the, you know, dirt bike or whatever requiring,
27:25 A, you can ride it on the road, I guess.
27:28 But then it throws into, well, are we going to allow it all in the community?
27:31 And then if we do, the state doesn't require that it have plates or whatever.
27:35 So that's kind of a weird angle there.
27:39 I'm kind of in favor of not allowing them and then saying if you want to ride this,
27:43 go out to Grafton on a private property and rip it around, right?
27:46 But it's not appropriate here in Lakewood.
27:48 You can have a device that's regulated, you know,
27:51 by the state to use on our roadways.
27:54 But interested more in what folks have to say and I know we kind of pulled this
27:59 out of case a little bit to get it up here so we can kind of consider it
28:02 at the same time so that we're not talking past each other at case
28:06 and council but kind of working collaboratively
28:08 so that when the recommendation comes out, it's ready to go
28:11 because folks want this now.
28:13 I mean, I'm hearing a lot from constituents.
28:15 So thank you and continue to be along for the ride.
28:19 No pun intended to get these things into law.
28:21 Great. Open it up for everybody else.
28:23 Council President Keppel.
28:25 Thank you and thank you to you and to Case for all the work on this so far.
28:30 I tend to generally think that it's easier to legislate, easier or more effective
28:38 to legislate about behavior than defining people like we've talked
28:44 about with the restrooms too of defining what that room is for rather
28:49 than who may use it sort of and the sort of the same thing
28:52 of what the behaviors are that we want on these different types of paths.
28:57 So just, you know, but also defining the terms and Vice President Baker,
29:04 I tend to agree is, you know, we've had
29:07 with the two council community conversations we've had and I just,
29:11 we've had lots of feedback from the community about the, I mean,
29:16 I just call them electric mopeds and myself experiencing children riding
29:22 on them with motorcycle helmets on the sidewalks, there's been cases of,
29:27 I mean, there was a gentleman that was killed by one of them, not here,
29:31 but so it is also I think, you know, if we put,
29:37 like we put the moratoriums on vape shops while we figured out some of that,
29:42 if there's the same sort of strategy of, I think a lot of these things are being marketed
29:49 to parents as e-bikes and so there's an education component there,
29:54 but putting that before it spreads more, I think,
29:59 and more people buy them and then their children can't ride them
30:01 and so getting the education piece out, which is part of why,
30:05 you know, we did put the public information officers
30:08 and ex-official member of case and some of that can,
30:12 we can also be doing some education while we're doing that as well,
30:15 but looking at that Avon language too about, I think, doing some,
30:21 we don't necessarily have to wait for this whole thing to be finished
30:24 to take some sort of action about those electric mopeds,
30:28 so especially children riding them, so that would be,
30:31 that's just something I want to talk to.
30:34 Comments, I know Councilman Buxenstein has.
30:39 Thank you, Assistant Director Abbas.
30:40 Thank you, members of the case board.
30:42 I concur that I prefer the focus to be on reckless behavior
30:46 rather than the specific device and I too, of course,
30:50 I can't step out into Madison Park without somebody telling me a story
30:53 of almost being run over by somebody who is being reckless.
30:57 I did just want to call out one particular behavior
31:01 I've observed a fair amount that I find particularly reckless
31:05 and that is on Madison Avenue, folks with electric devices
31:09 going in the wrong direction in the bike lane.
31:13 It's, you know, every time I see that, it's terrifying.
31:18 I worry for that individual and, of course, for anybody else
31:21 who's on Madison at the time,
31:23 so just one specific behavior that I see regularly
31:26 that I wanted to call out.
31:35 Councilperson Striegel.
31:36 Thank you for all the work on this.
31:38 I mean, this is like the wild, wild west of bicycles
31:41 and e-bikes and everything going on in Lakewood
31:43 and I think, ultimately, we're all trying to find
31:46 the same solution that we want everybody to recreate safely
31:50 either while walking or while using these
31:53 and I'm of that same opinion that there's gotta be some time.
31:56 I really especially like the stickers on the bikes
32:00 from the Maryland, the state of Maryland
32:03 so identified type because I don't recognize
32:07 all these different types of bikes.
32:08 I appreciate all your references to mopeds of the 1980s
32:13 but in the community, I grew up some of the cool kids
32:15 that had those bikes.
32:23 But I do think that there's a way to enforce it
32:25 and I would like to assist our police officers
32:30 with some type of identification.
32:31 I think to President Keppel's point
32:34 and also to Emily's point,
32:36 there's a huge area of education needed for this
32:41 and Emily recently presented to the Lakewood Youth Council
32:46 with a couple different programs
32:51 that she's been trying to educate folks on
32:53 that have had some lower attendance
32:55 and maybe that these are some ways
32:58 to help build that attendance
33:00 is to require people to take classes
33:03 and get a sticker in Lakewood
33:05 to identify what kind of vehicle you're riding on.
33:08 And also I do agree that there should be some type
33:12 On my way here tonight,
33:14 section at Bunsen Madison,
33:15 here comes a kid on what I would call a mini bike
33:18 going in the opposite direction on the bike lane.
33:25 If he was 10, I would be surprised.
33:27 So yeah, there's gotta be some better rules for this
33:31 and thank you everybody for all your work on this.
33:34 Thank you, Councilperson.
33:36 There's one person signed in,
33:37 but I'm sure there's some other folks who wanna talk.
33:39 So Emily, we've referenced you enough times
33:42 in this conversation.
33:42 May as well come up and make it official.
33:51 No, the deal, just make sure the light's green.
33:55 Emily Lindberg, I live on Lauderdale.
33:58 I am part of the case board,
34:00 but tonight I'm just speaking on my own behalf.
34:07 I was happy to see that all of those talked about tonight
34:12 because it wasn't shown in the agenda.
34:14 So I wasn't sure how much this,
34:16 like what case like actually discussed
34:19 and made some preliminary recommendations
34:22 about what would have come up.
34:24 So I was really happy to see that.
34:27 It's funny to hear you all talk about
34:30 the wild, wild west of like these devices
34:34 because honestly, that's how I feel every day
34:36 when I'm on our streets with cars
34:39 and I see cars going through red lights
34:42 and cars that are multiple tons speeding and things.
34:48 And so I kind of feel a little vindicated.
34:50 Like, you know, people do care about this sometimes.
34:54 So yeah, I do think that, you know,
35:01 above all, the reckless operation
35:04 should be taken into account
35:08 and there is nothing stopping a police officer today
35:12 from seeing anything on our sidewalks
35:15 and saying this is not safe and stopping that person.
35:20 Unfortunately, the way the code is written right now,
35:25 it does, in my opinion, discriminate against lawful e-bikes,
35:36 the class one, two and three,
35:39 which are used by parents with kids.
35:43 You know, in some cases, older adults
35:46 that may have arthritis or other mobility issues.
35:52 So for instance, if you were riding your device,
35:56 one of these devices, like a class one e-bike
35:59 on the sidewalk, and maybe it is a little wider
36:02 than a traditional bike, you could be sighted right now,
36:06 even if you were going five miles per hour
36:10 and being conscientious of pedestrians
36:13 and giving an audible signal.
36:15 Right now, that's what we have.
36:17 And I think that's important to think about.
36:22 So I do advocate for regulating actual e-bikes
36:27 the same way as we regulate bicycles.
36:31 But then overall, you know,
36:35 taking into account the reckless operation
36:38 because I don't want to see pedestrians getting killed
36:43 or pushed aside or injured or anything like that.
36:49 But at the same time, you know,
36:51 sidewalks and bikeways and shared,
36:56 the new shared e-paths that we're going to have,
36:59 those are transportation infrastructure.
37:01 It's not just about recreation.
37:05 People use these devices for a reason
37:07 and it's to get from point A to point B.
37:10 So we do need to bring that into consideration.
37:17 I think that was it.
37:18 And I did write some of my personal recommendations
37:21 and share them with you all.
37:24 I have spent a lot of time combing over these codes
37:28 and I listen to a lot of podcasts about this kind of stuff.
37:32 So I try to be as informed as possible about this.
37:38 And I do ride a bicycle and an electric bicycle
37:45 almost every day, multiple times a day.
37:48 And with my children.
37:49 So yeah, thank you for considering this
37:54 and being open to all the nuances
38:00 that are involved in this topic.
38:03 And thank you, Emily, again,
38:04 for your service in the case board
38:06 and everything you do for the community
38:08 in terms of education.
38:11 Any other members of the audience
38:13 that would like to speak to this issue today?
38:18 Okay, so I have, did you want to step up?
38:25 Please come up to the, yeah.
38:28 State your name for the record, thanks.
38:31 I mean, the second.
38:39 Just some possible suggestion
38:43 because there's a lot of confusion.
38:48 There's another way because a lot of the people
38:51 who use the emotes,
38:53 which you guys are referring as emopeds,
38:56 they use throttle a lot.
38:57 And one way we could help with that
39:01 is the throttles on every e-bike
39:04 from any manufacturer, they are removable.
39:07 And we could do something like that
39:09 to help disincentivize the users of those emotes
39:17 because most of the time they're not pedaling
39:19 and they're not really going to want to peddle.
39:21 But at the same time, they also,
39:23 as was said, the elderly and people with arthritis,
39:26 that throttle is useful for them,
39:28 for the ones who cannot really move their legs much.
39:30 But just something to consider.
39:34 And I'm liking the,
39:36 when you talk about the winter,
39:39 plowing the sidewalks and whatnot,
39:40 it's something that's a long time coming
39:42 for something and I'm looking forward to that.
39:51 Yeah, that's about it, thank you.
39:54 So Assistant Director Boss,
39:55 I did have one other question.
39:59 In all this work to this point,
40:01 has there been collaboration
40:03 with Lakewood Police Department to this point
40:04 or is that something that's gonna further down the line
40:06 because I think we all agree enforcement's a big issue,
40:09 so we definitely want to make sure we're all
40:11 working at this from the same angle.
40:13 Yes, I work with the police pretty intently
40:18 with the initial amendment that we put together
40:21 in November and then we have had police representation
40:24 at the case meetings and we'll continue to do that.
40:27 Because yeah, it's in my view,
40:31 it's really no sense in creating code
40:33 if they can't be, in this regard it's traffic code.
40:36 If you can't enforce it, so they are an integral part
40:40 of the development and the refinement of it.
40:45 Any remaining questions from my colleagues?
40:51 Right, well thanks again for all the hard work in this.
40:54 Obviously this is a conversation that's gonna continue.
40:57 There's more pieces of this
40:58 that you'll work on with the case board,
41:00 but I think the main takeaway,
41:01 at least my main takeaway from this meeting
41:03 is that I think somebody said we're not powerless
41:05 right now in the circumstances
41:09 we're seeing out there right now.
41:11 So I'd like to encourage us all to work together
41:14 to make sure we're enforcing rules
41:17 that we have in the books and to curtail behaviors
41:19 that we don't wanna see while we're working through.
41:22 It's obviously an arduous process
41:24 to go through and amend ordinances.
41:26 So, hearing no other comments and no other feedback,
41:32 thanks again and I will close this meeting
41:36 of Housing Planning and Development.