Editorial: Mill Valley takes important steps for safety

Advances in electric vehicles keep coming and they are not only transforming the automobile industry, but bicycles, scooters and skateboards, as well.

Those changes are leading Mill Valley city officials to adopt regulations aimed at electric mobility devices — also known as EMDs – including banning them from the city’s skate park, the downtown plaza, sidewalks and public hiking trails.

The City Council and police Chief Rick Navarro say it is a matter of public safety.

Most of the complaints fielded by the city involve speeding, riding against the flow of traffic or carrying passengers. Police noted that in recent years there has been a significant increase in local youth riding EMDs to school and around town.

In recent years, there’s been an ongoing debate about the use of so-called e-bikes on bike paths and open space trails.

For many, the electricity-assisted ride makes it possible for them to enjoy those paths and trails, especially among those who may lack the exertion required to rely on pedal power to get up and down those routes. But their use also raises concerns regarding speeding and injuries to riders.

E-bikes are prohibited from unpaved roads on the Marin Municipal Water District’s watershed lands. The county parks have similar rules, allowing their use on bike paths, but not on unpaved trails. They are also subject to a strict speed limit.

Mill Valley’s new rules are playing catch-up with EMDs popularity.

The city already has in place a number of safety-focused laws that prohibit bikes at the skate park or pedaling them across the plaza or on city sidewalks. But those regulations don’t apply to EMDs.

Leading up to the ordinance, which got the City Council’s initial approval at its March 20 meeting, police have discussed EMDs and safety issues at various community meetings, including outreach to school-age children and their parents.

Staff also worked with the city Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, local businesses, staff at Tamalpais High School and Mill Valley Middle School, as well as Marin County Bicycle Coalition officials, in drafting the proposed ordinance.

Public response to those meetings underscored the need for a local ordinance, according to city staff. Instead of monetary fines, citations for young violators will focus on programs aimed at education regarding safety and community service.

The new law would also require businesses that sell, rent or service EMDs within Mill Valley to provide customers with safety information, including advising them of the city’s ordinance.

This measure amounts to the city trying to play catchup and get ahead of a growing popularity in EMDs.

The council has asked for regular public reports on the effect of the ordinance – a measure that should help in growing public awareness and compliance with the new law.

The goal, staff says, is not to discourage use of EMDs, but to make sure they are ridden safely, for the riders, pedestrians and motorists with whom they are sharing city streets.

Councilmember Jim Wickham, a former longtime Mill Valley police officer, said the city’s law is needed to remind young riders of their responsibility to ride EMDs safely.

That’s for their own safety and, just as important, the safety of others.