To the editor:

In response to the letter to the editor of Jan 11, 2023, “The ‘what ifs’ of active transportation”, the writer states that the state legislature should remedy “the fact that Rhode Island is the only state without E-bike regulations”.

It further states that the bill that has been suggested would be simple to enact.

This would be true if the only initiative proposed in the bill was simply a classification of EMBs, as the letter implies. But as submitted during last year’s legislative session as H-5220, this is what the bill actually proposed:

• Electric motorized bikes or EMBs are to be regulated like bicycles. This means that they would be permitted on the East Bay Bike Path, even though some EMBs are capable of traveling at speeds higher than the legal speeds on local roads;

• EMBs are to be exempted from any kind of regulation, including proof of insurance, licensing, etc.;

• Local towns are prohibited from regulating EMBs, except for speeding. This means that even though local towns are responsible as first responders on the bike path, the local government has little authority.

Officially, DEM has the authority for enforcement on the bike path. But the bill represents an unfunded mandate, as the legislature has not proposed any increase in funding, either to DEM or to local municipalities, as part of this bill.

The push for EMBs on bike paths has been generously funded by a lobbying group called People for Bikes. Within Rhode Island, they have provided thousands of dollars, sometimes anonymously, to promote the sale of EMBs. They employ a very sophisticated political strategy. Much of their argument is that RI should update its laws regarding EMBs on bike paths, like many other states. It is never mentioned that many other states restrict the use of the faster, heavier EMBs on bike paths.

But one size does not fit all.

Rhode Island should not be compared with other states, some of which have individual bike paths longer than our whole state system; some have over 4,000 miles of bike paths. We have only 72 miles.

The East Bay Bike Path in particular is very heavily used by families with children and by other vulnerable users with lanes that are only five feet wide.

If the legislature would pass a bill as implied in the letter, with a simple classification of EMBs, along with age restrictions and helmet mandates, this would be pro-active.

As promoted, the proposed bill is really the proverbial “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Judith A. Byrnes
62 Seabreeze Lane