The Island Pedaler

As Marco Island’s impressive network of shared-use paths continues to grow and gain in popularity, islanders often find themselves sharing their path with electric bikes (e-bikes) traveling at speeds of up to 28 miles per hour. That can be pretty daunting, even for experienced bicyclists. Imagine what it’s like for many of Marco's novice riders.

Some of the speedsters are folks racing to get to work on time. Others are school-aged riders heading to and from our three schools on the island. Of course, even the island’s senior riders enjoy speeding along their e-bikes.

E-bikes are not slowing down. E-bike sales increased 145% during COVID according to industry studies. They outsell classic bicycles 2-1. Americans bought a half million e-bikes in 2020 alone. E-bikes are the world’s best-selling electric vehicle, not cars.

Right now, there are no guidelines concerning speed on our shared-use paths. In fact, some of our busiest shared-use paths don’t have any signage at all to guide users. Maybe developing a uniform signage policy for our shared-use paths would be a good starting point. Perhaps a speed limit on the island’s shared-use paths should be considered. 

In Boulder, Colorado, one of the country’s top bicycle cities, a 15 mph speed limit is posted on shared-use paths. Maybe 10 mph would work on Marco Island, where faster riders often have the option of riding on an in-road bike lane.

In the meantime, we all need to plan for bicycles of varying speeds using our shared-use paths. Bike riders need to use safe speeds and defer to slower-moving traffic on the shared-use paths. And always signal when passing, either by bell, by voice, or by both.