The Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday regulating electric bicycles, setting a 15-mph speed limit on sidewalks and shared-use paths and creating new requirements for riders, parents and e-bike retailers.
The council voted 19-0 on Sept. 22 to approve Ordinance 2026-570, introduced in July by Councilman Michael Boylan. The rules are expected to take effect once Mayor Donna Deegan signs the bill.
The original proposal called for a 10-mph speed limit, but council members increased it to 15 mph before final approval.
Jeffrey Page, co-owner of Open Road Bicycles, said he has been waiting for Jacksonville to address e-bike safety.
“I strongly think they should have done this a long time ago. I just think there’s a lot of accidents happening … but it’s finally happening, which is good,” Page said.
Page said riders may not understand the risks of traveling at higher speeds on an e-bike.
“Speed on a bicycle is way more dangerous than it is in a vehicle, because … you’re not protected by anything,” Page said. “So 15 miles an hour straight into something is gonna hurt a lot.”
The ordinance also removes a proposed ban on children younger than 11 riding e-bikes on city roads and sidewalks. Instead, parents and guardians will decide whether a child is mature enough and physically capable of operating one. Riders younger than 16 will still be required to wear helmets.
Page said parents should teach children basic traffic and safety rules.
“A bike is treated just like a vehicle, so stop on crossing intersections, stopping at red lights, stop signs, yielding, just your general basic rules of the road need to be passed down to the kids,” he said.
The city will also provide educational signage to known e-bike retailers, including a QR code with information about the new regulations.
Page said the material could help shops educate customers.
“We can only do so much by just handing them the rules and telling them what to do, but you can’t really enforce it, unfortunately,” he said.
Page also warned about some faster, lower-cost e-bikes purchased online.
“A lot of the e-bikes that you see kids getting hurt on are the cheap stuff off the internet. They’re just unsafe. They get built improperly,” Page said.
Violations of the ordinance will be classified as Class C civil infractions and can carry fines of up to $100.
The city plans to initially install 26 speed-limit signs around Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office previously questioned whether that would provide enough notice to riders and said it would continue enforcing existing Florida laws regarding reckless or dangerous e-bike operation.
A separate ordinance introduced Tuesday would allow individual council members to use previously appropriated traffic-safety funds to install additional e-bike speed-limit signs in their districts. That proposal is scheduled for a public hearing Oct. 13.
Christian Young, who works in St. Johns County, said she regularly sees groups of younger riders in the communities where she works.
“A lot of younger children are influenced by getting those bikes, and parents are not knowledgeable … of how fast they go, as well as the dangers with the cars, and parking lots, and a lot of the neighborhoods,” Young said.
Young said she has heard of injuries connected to e-bike use and believes the signage could help educate riders.
“I think that it’s a really good idea … just to help the community be more knowledgeable about how fast they can go,” she said.
Page said riders should also use helmets and lights and follow traffic laws.
“Just general safety, general rules of the road, wearing a helmet is a big plus … lights, flashing lights just to make you more noticeable,” Page said.
He also encouraged riders traveling faster than the sidewalk limit to use the road.
“If you are gonna go over the speed limit on the sidewalks, get onto the road, because you are legally allowed to use the road with a bicycle,” Page said.