Oak Bluffs residents will likely vote on a proposal to change the town’s moped bylaws at special town meeting on Nov. 4.
Oak Bluffs residents will likely vote on a proposal to change the town’s moped bylaws at special town meeting on Nov. 4.
The board voted unanimously at a regular meeting Tuesday to include the proposed change on the town meeting warrant, which would limit rental mopeds to only one rider and require that renters be at least 18 with a valid driver’s license or permit. It would also significantly reduce the maximum number of renter licenses and moped registration decals the select board can issue each year, and include a definition of “moped.”
The select board held a public hearing in early September on a draft of the bylaw, where several select board members expressed safety concerns about current moped regulations on the Island. Debate about the vehicles has mounted in the wake of several moped-related accidents, including the death of a Florida woman last summer after her moped collided with an oncoming vehicle.
“I feel like we vetted this pretty well, complete with a public hearing and quite a bit of discussion,” said select board member Emma Green-Beach on Tuesday.
Select board member Sean DeBettencourt raised a concern that the drafted definition of “moped” could conceivably encompass electric bicycles, which are also rented in town. Town Administrator Deborah Potter asserted this is not the case.
“Electric bikes, in general, are the next issue that the state is going to have to more clearly identify and regulate,” Ms. Potter added.
At a previous meeting, select board member Tom Hallahan mentioned that he, along with Ms. Potter and select board member Mark Leonard, spoke informally with moped renters in town about the future of rentals on the Island. One long-term solution raised was an immediate or gradual buyout of moped rental businesses by a non-municipal entity. Also discussed was the possibility of renters gradually replacing mopeds with “low-speed vehicles” that cannot travel over 40 miles per hour.
Mr. Hallahan confirmed Tuesday that none of these considerations will be voted on as part of the approved warrant article.
The Oak Bluffs Select Board still has yet to finalize decisions on several proposed warrant articles. Among the articles pending approval is a new blight bylaw seeking to crack down on dilapidated Oak Bluffs properties, as well as increased regulations on large events at residential properties. The deadline for a finalized warrant is Oct. 7.
Comments
IMHO, electric bicycles are
Lorraine EdgartownIMHO, electric bicycles are more of a threat to the general public. I have almost been knocked over a number of times on Edgartown streets and sidewalks by silent, speeding electric bicycles. I do approve of the limits put on mopeds, as stated in this article, but do not ignore electric bicycle problems. They are dangerous and fast and rules and regs MUST be put in place for these "vehicles" for that is what they are.
I applaud the effort, but
Nothing new hereI applaud the effort, but this conversation is like a merry go round. There is not a new point in the article. In the end it’s but them out and or even worse switch to low speed vehicles. E-bikes should be included.
I have spent my entire life
Kurt Paulson AndoverI have spent my entire life training motorcyclists to be safer on the streets. IMO some sort of training or vetting of the renters is required here. Day trippers with no real two wheel experience pose a threat to themselves and others. The fact that they the moped does not go very fast does nothing to mitigate the danger.
E bikes should also be regulated and helmets should be mandatory on all bikes - powered or not.
Add new comment