Beach leaders met to review an e-bike safety study and consider unified speed limits and rules across Atlantic, Neptune and Jacksonville beaches.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — E-bike riders can travel from Atlantic Beach to Neptune Beach to Jacksonville Beach and encounter different rules along the way. Now, leaders in all three communities are considering a more consistent approach to regulating the increasingly popular devices.
At a joint meeting Wednesday at Jacksonville Beach City Hall, the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization presented the findings of a regional e-bike study and recommended that the Beaches cities adopt coordinated safety rules, including a 10 mph speed limit on sidewalks and shared-use paths.
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No new rules were approved Wednesday. City managers and police chiefs are expected to continue developing potential recommendations, with discussions planned at upcoming council meetings.
Different rules, same beaches
Atlantic Beach currently limits e-bikes to 10 mph on sidewalks and multi-use paths. Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach allow up to 15 mph.
Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford said the inconsistencies can confuse riders and residents who move between the communities.
“My goal tonight is to at least start the dialog on how we write similar or same legislation so that our citizens, when they go from Atlantic Beach to Neptune to Jacksonville or vice versa, are not dealing with multiple rules and laws that confuse,” Ford said.
Ford said Atlantic Beach passed its first e-bike legislation about a year and a half ago. He recalled having a police officer ride an e-bike along a multi-use path outside City Hall to demonstrate how quickly the devices can approach pedestrians.
“We started with 20 miles an hour. Oh my goodness, that was fast,” Ford said. “15 miles an hour, still very fast. Even 10 miles an hour is a shocker for most people who are just walking on a sidewalk to be passed by a very quiet machine that comes up from behind.”
What the study found
The TPO study reviewed crash data from January 2020 through March 2026. Researchers identified 46 reported e-bike crashes in the Beaches communities. Of those, 25 occurred in crosswalks, and 78% resulted in injuries.
The study also found that reported e-bike crashes increased by about 800% from 2020. Thalia Fusté with the TPO said the increase reflects both growing ridership and gaps in how crashes are recorded, because state crash reports do not always include a specific category for e-bikes.
“The e-bikes are not going away this time, and these crashes are going to continue to rise,” Fusté said.
The study recommends that the three cities adopt a unified 10 mph limit for sidewalks and shared-use paths, clarify where e-bikes may ride, improve education for riders and parents, and consider additional safety measures such as better signage and separated paths.
Parents push for tougher rules
Crystal Workman, a resident in the area, said both of her teenagers have been hurt in e-bike crashes. Her daughter went to the emergency room after falling from an e-bike.
“I think they’re very dangerous,” Workman said.
Florida law requires e-bike riders younger than 16 to wear a helmet. Workman said she believes helmet use should be required for all riders and that speed limits should be lower.
“I think that the mileage level should be lower, and I think that they should mandatory be having to wear helmets,” she said. “Otherwise, they will should get cited.”
E-bikes vs. e-motos
Florida law recognizes three classes of e-bikes. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are limited to 20 mph, while Class 3 e-bikes can reach 28 mph. E-bikes must have operable pedals.
E-motos, which can travel faster than 28 mph, are treated differently under state law. Riders must be at least 16, and the vehicles must be registered and operated with the proper license.
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman said education will be a key part of any new approach, particularly for young riders and their parents.
“Making sure that the users of the e-bikes and their parents, especially if they’re minors, know what the laws are, so we need to be really clear, and it will help us if we’re consistent too across the three beaches,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman said he hopes the cities can form a joint committee to develop recommendations that can be applied consistently across the Beaches.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to kind of put together a little bit of a joint committee to come up with some recommendations that we can apply consistently across the three beaches,” he said.
What’s next
City managers and police chiefs from the three communities are expected to work together on possible regulations. Leaders said e-bikes will likely remain a recurring topic at upcoming council meetings as they work toward rules all three Beaches communities can support.