TREASURE ISLAND — When it comes to drafting an ordinance that regulates e-scooters and e-bikes, Treasure Island will study how micromobility users can safely share roadways with motorists and bicyclists — but it won’t be easily done.
During the city’s last work session, it was revealed the beach city has a unique set of issues that will have to first be addressed. For example, while experts unanimously agree that micromobility vehicles do not belong on sidewalks with pedestrians, some roadways on this barrier island are too narrow for cars, trucks, e-bikes and scooters to all proceed safely.
Forward Pinellas Executive Director Whit Blanton, St. Petersburg Transportation Director Cheryl Stacks, and St. Pete Beach Community Development Director Michelle Gonzalez all attended the Treasure Island work session to give advice on how issues with this new mode of transportation might be addressed.
Blanton, a micromobility proponent, told commissioners “the future of transportation is described as autonomous, connected, electric and shared; we’ve been planning for that framework for a long time. A lot of it is unknown, but what is known is that electric vehicles and these micromobility devices are becoming increasingly popular.”
He added, “I bought an e-bike back in December and it’s transformed my world. I think a lot of people are seeing that with these devices, whether it’s an e-scooter or an e-bike or other types of devices … It’s important that we address these topics at a countywide level and have some consistency among our jurisdictions.”
Micromobility vehicles are not golf carts or scooters that look like mini-motorcycles, Blanton advised. “It tends to be smaller devices like e-scooters, e-bikes, and shared (rental) devices … Together, in concert, these make for a much more efficient and connected transportation network.”
Safety is a prime concern not only in the beach communities but throughout Pinellas County, the Forward Pinellas executive director told commissioners. “There is a loss of visibility for people riding a bicycle, or a faster e-scooter on the sidewalk. Motorists pulling out of an adjacent driveway are not necessarily looking in the direction where someone maybe coming from. If (motorists) are looking southbound to merge into traffic, and someone is coming on the sidewalk from the north to the south, they are not in the cone of visibility.”
A prime example of that occurred earlier this year, with a fatality in Madeira Beach, Blanton explained. An e-bike user was killed by a truck pulling out of driveway from a commercial area, because the driver was looking for oncoming traffic and not for an e-scooter traveling down the sidewalk in the other direction.
Blanton noted state law treats e-scooters and e-bikes as bicycles and they have the same rights and responsibilities.
St. Petersburg’s Stacks told Treasure Island officials her city prohibits micromobility vehicles from using the sidewalks. They are allowed in bike lanes and on low-speed streets where the speed limit is 30 mph or less.
She advised the city had to established micromobility vehicle parking requirements; rented scooters have to park in designated corrals, and private scooters have to sit upright and outside the pedestrian path.
Gonzalez from St. Pete Beach said her city “is looking to prohibit micromobility devices on all sidewalks in the city or on the beach; you can ride up to the beach, but can’t take them on the beach.”
She said St. Pete Beach also allows them on streets with bike lanes and low-speed streets where the speed limit is 30 mph. “We wanted to have consistent rules,” she said.
Both cities said micromobility vendors need a license agreement with the city. Private users in both cities can be as young as 16, while those who rent have to be at least 18 years of age. Only one person may ride on a scooter at any time.
Commissioners noted Treasure Island has its own set of unique problems that have to be addressed in any micromobility ordinance. For example, there is a short stretch of Gulf Boulevard near Sunset Beach that is narrow with no shared bike lanes. There is also a portion of roadway near the Treasure Island Causeway and Paradise Isles that is too narrow for e-scooters and vehicles. An e-scooter or e-bike rider might think it safer to use the sidewalk.
“If we are going to make (scooters) ride in the road, we have to have a consistent place for them to ride,” said Mayor Tyler Payne. “It’s not, ‘You can ride on most of Gulf Boulevard, but not this one stretch that separates Sunset Beach from the rest of the city.’ If we are going to allow it on Gulf Boulevard, we need to allow it on the whole thing.”
It was suggested the city could ask the Florida Department of Transportation to locate warning signs along the narrowed portion of Gulf Boulevard, which is a state road near Sunset Beach, alerting motorists to the potential for e-scooters to be sharing the roadway.
“We definitely need to have directions on what options there are for those areas, before we make a decision; that particular piece, that’s a huge safety concern,” said Treasure Island commissioner Saleene Partridge. “A sign is great, but for a motorist I’m not so sure that’s the most effective way.”
She said the city should look at drafting its ordinance with consideration to special needs areas, not one-size-fits-all.
Payne said the consensus of experts is that scooters should not be on the sidewalks in general, but specific situations may cause that notion not to apply.
City Manager Amy Davis noted when it comes to the area of Gulf Boulevard near Sunset Beach, “we only have a sidewalk on the western side of the road. When you’re exiting from a hotel your natural inclination is going to be to look to the left, and the sidewalk doesn’t have directional rules; there is a real conflict with just following the natural rules of the street.”
Commissioners noted that police will have to make sure the rules of the road and sidewalks are followed for both bicyclists and micromobility users.
Staff members told commissioners at the work session they are just looking to receive some consensus to draft the ordinance. A license agreement allowing private companies to provide micromobility vehicles on the island will be addressed in a separate meeting.