Restrictions?
Gas-bike users can ride on streets, panel agrees, but face restrictions
Gas-powered and electric bicycles should be allowed on roadways but not on sidewalks or multi-use bike and jogging paths, a City Council panel voted Thursday. The matter goes before the full council on Sept. 19.
Gas-powered bicycles are emerging as a transportation option for low-income Tucsonans needing a cheap way to get around. A new state law that exempts them from state motor-vehicle laws — but opens the door for local regulation — is set to take effect Sept. 21.
The city has been grappling with what to classify the bikes as — bikes, mopeds, motorcycles or none of the above — and how to regulate them. City officials want a decision made before the state law goes into effect.
Ultimately, the panel voted to let the gas-powered bikes ride on city streets but voted to put seven restrictions on them that were recommended by the Police Department.
Those restrictions included: requiring helmets for operators under 18 years old; prohibiting use for those under 16 years old; allowing only one rider per bike; prohibiting their use on sidewalks; limiting their operations to places where bikes are currently allowed and preventing their use on multi-use paths such as the one around Reid Park or the trail next to the Rillito River; requiring merchants to disclose city operating regulations; and mandating the use of a headlamp and red rear reflector for use at night.
The full council will have the ultimate decision, and the panel consisting of council members Nina Trasoff and Jose Ibarra asked for a public hearing to be held on Sept. 19 before the vote.
Roland Bosma, owner of Spooky Tooth Cycles, which builds many of Tucson's new gas-powered bikes and who serves as a spokesman for the cause, said he can live with the regulations, calling them "logical."
The bikes — which are typically beach cruisers — include a two-stroke engine of the type that powers chain saws, leaf blowers, Jet Skis and dirt bikes, with a half-gallon fuel tank filled with a combination of gasoline and oil. The bike is started with a clutch and is powered by a throttle on the right grip, with the braking power coming from rear coaster breaks and a front caliper brake on the left handle.
Users say their price tags starting at about $400 and the fact that the bikes get as much as 150 miles per gallon, makes them a cost-efficient and practical way to get around.
Traditional-bike enthusiast Diana Tolton, of the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee, said the the gas-powered bikes will present safety and enforcement problems.
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