Please place on the December 13, 2023 agenda a referral to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee to discuss the regulations pertaining to electric vehicles and devices including, but not limited to, scooters, bicycles and skateboards, in conjunction with the City’s enforcement efforts and whether any additional regulations would assist the Administration in keeping City streets safe for pedestrians, the operators of other (more traditional) motor vehicles, and persons operating electric vehicles and devices.

As an urban area with approximately 82,000 residents and throngs of visitors each day, the City has experienced a proliferation of electric vehicles (such as scooters, bicycles, skateboards, and other devices) which many residents and visitors utilize to move around the City because these vehicles are affordable, better for the environment, take up little (if any) street space for parking and, arguably, are fun to use. However, public safety is of the utmost importance and all too frequently these electric vehicles and devices are utilized in a careless or reckless manner that endangers their operators and others on the roadway and on pedestrian sidewalks, paths, and the Beachwalk.

Previously, the Mayor and City Commission adopted ordinances establishing certain areas in which motorized means of transportation (including electric vehicles) are prohibited, in conjunction with adopting various ordinances containing detailed regulations applicable to business that rent or lease motorized means of transportation. However, many traditional vehicle (car) drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists continue to complain about electric vehicle riders who speed, run red lights, ride on sidewalks, and go the wrong way on streets.

Accordingly, I would request that the Administration be prepared at Committee to discuss the enforcement of regulations pertaining to electric vehicles and devices, and whether any supplemental regulations may be beneficial in mitigating the dangers presented by the reckless operation of these vehicles. I would further request that the Administration be prepared to update the Committee as to any educational outreach that has been, or should be, conducted to most effectively and efficiently inform electric vehicle operators as to any prohibitions regarding which electric vehicles and devices may be legally operated, and where they may be ridden. And finally, I would ask that the Administration update the Committee as to what enforcement protocols are already in place, and what best practices are in place in other cities around the country to effectively deal with these public safety issues.