County creates new electric bike, scooter rules

Miami-Dade appears to be on the verge of a growing worldwide movement, literally, allowing micromobility vehicles in the county’s incorporated and unincorporate areas.

The ordinance by Commissioner Raquel Regalado, dealing with a hotly debated issue countywide, ultimately passed without comment Tuesday after the Chairman’s Policy Council & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee earlier had endorsed it unanimously.

It permits “operation of micromobility devices, electric bicycles, and motorized scooters” but sternly warns that “persons choosing to operate a micromobility device … do so at their own risk, and must be observant of, and attentive to, the safety” of others.

Riders must “comply with all applicable state and county traffic laws, rules, and regulations as may be applicable to such devices.” Riders may be ticketed for traffic violations in the same manner as motor vehicles.

The ordinance defines a micromobility device as a motorized device that can travel faster than 20 miles per hour on level ground, but it sets 20 as the maximum speed. It excludes wheelchairs and “other power-driven mobility devices as defined under the American with Disabilities Act.”

The ordinance will expire in two years unless it’s renewed.

Forget about giving a friend a lift on the handlebars. The ordinance prohibits more than one rider unless the vehicle is specifically designed for more.

There is at least one exception to the one-rider rule. It does not “prohibit an adult rider from carrying a child securely attached to his or her person in a backpack or sling.”

Operating a micromobility device will be prohibited on public sidewalks and walkways, except for the purpose of parking in areas specifically marked for them.

The ordinance says the devices “shall only be operated within bike lanes, if available, or upon streets with a posted speed limit of 30 mph or less.”