Thanks for the response so by what your saying e- bikes are allowed on Buena Vista, 466 and 441. Sounds bizarre and not really safe but if that is the case I may need to invest in one.

As someone with only a golf cart this could open my world to things like the shopping plaza across Rolling Acres and crossing 441 to go to Home Depot, etc.

If walkers would stay to the far right or left instead of walking in the middle of the path, you wouldn't have any concerns. The paths are for everyone to enjoy, not just walkers. Share the paths, don't hog them.

Yes, the walking trails in the south should be just for walking/jogging. They are too narrow for bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc. to share with pedestrians. They also have lots of blind curves and wooden bridges (behind Bradford/St Catherine) and a vehicle traveling faster then a person walking is a hazard to all involved.

Somewhat agree. There are e-bikes that you don’t even need to pedal. I see these flying by my house often. My e-bike will not assist me unless I pedal so it doesn’t seem bad. I see a guy weaving back and forth on an electric skateboard. I do worry about these people going so fast that they will cause an accident with a walker

So...is the issue the speed of the e-bike, or just that you don't like e-bikes, period? If speed is the main concern, there are plenty of cyclists riding conventional, not power assisted, bicycles that could easily fall into your crosshairs. Just because a bicycle has an electric motor to assist with pedaling does not automatically turn it into something ready for the Bonneville Salt Flats.

My wife and I have e-bikes, and we enjoy our time riding on both the MMPs, and the walking/bicycle paths. Our bikes do not have a throttle, and only provide assistance when pedaling. We rarely get to speeds over 15mph. Folks who want to ban everything except what they are doing are annoying at a minimum, and dangerous in the extreme. Use good common sense, practice situational awareness, and live and let live. You'll be a lot happier.

Nice try, but you don't get to put spin on a state statute and make it appear to say something it doesn't. Florida statutes specifically exempt bicycles and electric bicycles from the definition of a motor vehicle. It really is just that simple.

E-bikes are Bicycles per FL
 

Florida declares e-bikes as bicycles and so are allowed everywhere bicycles are allowed. This does indeed blur the motorized/non-motorized line.

(And bicycles can go everywhere, roads, streets, MPPs, pathways. sidewalks, but not Interstate highways.)

Adding speed limits for e-bikes is folly - bicyclists generally travel above 10 MPH already and can easily exceed 20 MPH. (I’ve done 30+ downhill with the wind.)

E-bike riders should ring a bell and announce when passing on pathways - same as bicyclists.

Walkers need to stay to the right on pathways and be alert for e-bikes and bicycles passing. The stay-to-the right rules is especially important on blind corners.

(MPPs, streets and roads have motorized traffic so walkers should stay to the left on these places. This too is confusing because MMPs and pathways look alike.)

E bike
 

Bikes should prohibited from all golf cart lanes in the road. Dangerous as golf carts go into the road to pass the bike. Marsh Bend Trail has a bike/walking trail next to the road, so the ignorant bike rider should use it not the cart lane. Stupid is as stupid does

My wife and I have 4 ebikes. I researched the topic thoroughly before buying. e-bikes CANNOT go 35-45 mph at full throttle. Throttles are limited to 20 MPH. Some e-bikes can go in excess of 20 MPH via pedaling and power assist, but usually the top end of assist is 28 mph. Anything going 35-45 mph is not an e-bike or is a modified one.

Maybe we should eliminate golf carts and save that lane for bikes.

Finally, a couple common sense replies.

You're telling the truth!!!!
My golf cart can go 24 miles an hour and I have been passed by E-bikes on the MMP's as well as Marsh Bend Trail. For what it's worth the only crash I have ever seen is with an E-bike trying to make the turn into one of the tunnels.

Where did you get this from? It's obviously a quote from somewhere. What is the CPSA? Those initials stand for a whole lot of things, none of which have anything to do with bicycles that I can find. The first link that comes up in a google search is the Colored Pencil Society of America.

I guess maybe you just didn't "research" the topic as thoroughly as you thought you did. I did a single google search just now:

"fast e-bikes" and came up with page after page of websites. Here's one at the top of the first page:

https://www.makeuseof.com/fastest-ebikes-for-sale/

The law requires that they get shipped with a limiter to 20mph in Florida. But you can disable the limiter, and some bike manufacturers will provide a method to disable it and give you printed instructions.

My concern is - a golf cart - in order to be legally considered a golf cart, with no registration, license, or insurance required, may not go in excess of 20 mph in Florida. If it goes between 20 and 25mph, it must be registered, you must have a drivers license to drive it, and it has to be insured. At that point it is called an LSV, no longer a golf cart. It is street legal.

An e-bike has no such restrictions. It has to be shipped to you with the limiter so it can't go over 20mph, but you can disable that and use the motor to propel you at speeds greater than 25mph - with no pedal assist necessary. It functions as an electric-powered moped. And yet - mopeds have to be registered, and you have to be licensed to drive one. E-bikes that are set to go faster (without pedal assist necessary) than 25 do not. In addition, the posted speed limit for most of The Villages is 20. Not 25, not 28. 20.

The posted speed limit for MMPs is 20. Not 25, not 28. No one should be driving or riding ANYTHING faster than 20mph on an MMP. The fact that so many e-bikes can, and do, with or without pedal assist, makes them incredibly dangerous.

I think that e-bikes should have some restrictions.

As someone who is not a fan of either electric cars or golf carts, I think e-bikes are very cool. I am a huge proponent of people getting outside and getting some exercise any way the can. If someone has physical restrictions that make riding a traditional bike difficult, but an e-bike can allow them to overcome those restrictions, the more power to them. Plus, e-bike riders aren’t trying to greenwash their choice of an e-bike relative to a traditional bike, they are simply extending their ability to get some exercise peddling a bike with some needed assistance. I will never own an electric car or golf cart, but I see an e-bike in the future when the time inevitably comes that riding a traditional bike becomes too difficult. Peddle on : )