E-bike riders in Duval County will soon have to follow a new set of rules that city officials say are meant to keep e-cyclists and pedestrians safe.<\/p>\n
The Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved the new regulations for electric bicycles this week.\u00a0The new rules will go into effect 60 days after they\u2019re signed by Mayor Donna Deegan. <\/p>\n
Ordinance 2026-0570<\/a>, filed by council member Michael Boylan, sets a 15 mph speed limit for e-bikes on sideways and requires e-bike retailers to post the new city rules in-store.<\/p>\n The 15 mph speed limit is a significant reduction from current city rules<\/a>, which limited speeds to 28 mph, near top speed for many e-bike models. The bill requires riders to abide by all traffic regulations including posted speed limits.<\/p>\n \u201cIt raises the awareness of the importance of common sense to some extent to say, \u2018Hey, if you\u2019re on the road, you have to follow accepted regulations and laws as to operating an e-bike on a public thoroughfare,\u2019\u201d Boylan told Jacksonville Today last month.<\/p>\n He said wanted to make sure riders are \u201cproviding sufficient awareness to pedestrians on the sidewalk that you\u2019re approaching them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Boylan\u2019s bill requires riders to:\u00a0<\/p>\n Provide an audible signal \u2013\u00a0 like a bell, horn or verbal signal \u2013 before passing a pedestrian and pass in a safe manner at a safe distance from the pedestrian,<\/p>\n Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians at all times,<\/p>\n And comply with all traffic signs and intersection signalization.<\/p>\n It will be against the law for e-bikes to drive in a \u201ccareless, unsafe and\/or reckless manner\u201d in a bicycle lane, bicycle path, bikeway, right-of-way, roadway, sidewalk or shared-use path.<\/p>\n The bill gives these and other examples of what\u2019s considered reckless behavior: <\/p>\n Unsafe passing.<\/p>\n Performing stunts or maneuvers that reduce rider control.<\/p>\n Operating in a manner that creates an unreasonable hazard to pedestrians or other lawful users.<\/p>\n Weaving through traffic.<\/p>\n Leaving the roadway to avoid traffic signals.<\/p>\n Boylan says he drafted the rules after a surge of injuries in e-bike and e-scooter crashes in the last four years.<\/p>\n As e-bike and e-scooter grew in popularity as a primary mode of transportation, so have accidents and injuries. Wolfson Children\u2019s Hospital treated three patients for e-bike and e-scooter-related injuries in its trauma center in 2022. By 2025, that number had increased to 115.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of July 30, Wolfson had treated 106 patients so far this year for e-bike and e-scooter injuries. Of course, the full picture could include more injuries. <\/p>\n \u201cThese numbers only reflect patients who are injured badly enough to need to be transferred to Wolfson Children\u2019s Hospital for care and\/or who need to be admitted to the hospital for their injuries,\u201d hospital spokesperson Melissa Seguin said.<\/p>\n For e-bike retailers, the city will provide signage that includes a QR code linking to the new regulations on the city\u2019s website. Officials say business owners can get them at Transportation Planning Division offices or download them from the city\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Chris LeDew, the city\u2019s chief of traffic engineering, told council members on Sept. 14 that the city would need to post \u201cseveral dozen\u201d e-bike speed limit signs in order to be able to enforce the new restriction.<\/p>\n LeDew said federal standards recommend placing speed limit signs at city limits, neighborhood borders and the entry points to business districts.<\/p>\n City officials say the new signage would cost $5,000 to $10,000. Boylan has introduced additional legislation<\/a> that would open funding originally approved in 2023 for traffic calming to pay for the e-bike speed limit signs. That bill could be up for a final vote by the end of the year.<\/p>\n No statewide e-bike rules<\/p>\n Boylan said he first started looking into strengthening Jacksonville\u2019s e-bike rules in October 2025, but he hit pause after e-bike bills filed in the Florida House and Senate would have restricted riders from going faster than 10 mph within 50 feet of a pedestrian.\u00a0The statewide limits would have come with a $100 fine. <\/p>\n