Jacksonville’s City Council considers a 15-mph limit for e-bike riders to improve pedestrian safety, but questions remain about sufficient signage for enforcement

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville could soon have new rules for e-bike riders, including a proposed 15-mile-per-hour speed limit on sidewalks and shared-use paths.

The proposed ordinance has cleared three Jacksonville City Council committees and is now headed to the full council for a vote.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says it takes reckless and unsafe e-bike use seriously, but is raising concerns about whether riders would receive enough notice about the proposed speed limit.



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JSO says the ordinance would initially include 26 signs throughout the city and questions whether that would provide sufficient or fair notice to people subject to the new restriction.

Councilman Michael Boylan, who proposed the ordinance, says the 26 signs would only be the first phase. He says more than $500,000 remains from a previous Safe Streets initiative that allocated about $45,000 to each City Council district for traffic-calming devices.

Boylan plans to introduce legislation that would allow those funds to be used for additional e-bike speed-limit signs in individual council districts.

The ordinance does not include an age restriction. Boylan says parents and guardians would decide whether a child is mature, old enough and physically capable of operating an e-bike.

Jacksonville resident Kristin Messiana says she supports having parameters around e-bike use, particularly with the number of pedestrians downtown.

“I think it’s great actually there should be some parameters around E bikes I’ve heard horror stories about e-bikes so having 15mph acquired to the e-bikes I think would be a great thing, for safety for kids. There’s a lot of pedestrians especially downtown in this area, said Messiana.”

Messiana says she hopes riders follow the proposed speed limit.

“I just hope that people stick to the 15 mph and they don’t increase it from there”

The full Jacksonville City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance Sept. 22.

If approved, the ordinance would need the mayor’s signature. Boylan says he expects the new rule to take effect Dec. 1.