VIRGINIA BEACH — City leaders say several recent accidents involving electric bicycles along with pedestrian complaints have prompted them to take a hard look at ways to reel in the popular mode of transportation.
On walking trails across the city, and especially on the Boardwalk, pedestrians have complained about e-bikes travelling at high rates of speed.
“Some of these e-bikes are getting up pretty good speeds, and the thought of having literally a 6 or 7 year old doing 25 mph out on the public road, or worse yet on a trail in a neighborhood, or worse yet on the Boardwalk at the Oceanfront, it’s just unsettling,” City Councilman Stacy Cummings said at a council retreat this week. “It’s really come to light this summer because the proliferation of these e-bikes has just exploded.”
E-bikes are a new, fast-growing trend in the U.S. The 2024 e-bike market reached $1.63 billion in sales, representing approximately 30% of the total U.S. bicycle market, according to data compiled by Circana for PeopleForBikes, a nonprofit bike advocacy organization.
They can be run on electric power as well as by pedaling and can be used by people of all ages and capabilities. Virginia Beach is among many cities seeing an uptick in e-bike usage as more people choose to ride them for pleasure or to commute.
“It’s something that really needs to be looked at, not just at the Oceanfront, but through all our neighborhoods, and I would think throughout the state,” Cummings said.
A recently-formed e-bike work group is devising an education campaign to inform residents and visitors about where they can ride them, how to ride safely and the rules of the road. The information will be disseminated in the coming months through the city’s website, social media and signage.
Related Articles
Chesapeake mayor outlines process to fill seat after vice mayor’s death
Virginia Beach to explore developing below ‘Green Line’
Portsmouth adopts new rules for clubs to limit late-night hours
Portsmouth seeks ‘transformational’ change of city’s waterfront
Norfolk City Council approves $211 million Maury rebuild agreement
The work group is hashing out recommendations on where people should be able to ride e-bikes at the Oceanfront. City law states e-bikes are allowed on sidewalks and designated bicycle paths, but they are prohibited on the Boardwalk, the Boardwalk bike path and sidewalks in the resort area. Additionally, e-bikes are also not allowed on Atlantic Avenue from May 1-Sept. 30.
Several accidents have occurred over the last few weeks, Steve Lambert, a city transportation planner, told a Resort Advisory Commission subcommittee Thursday.
Enforcement is currently a challenge for law enforcement, said Lambert, because of available resources and the need for officers to be present at the time of an offense. Any changes will be subject to the police department’s approval.
“My thoughts and most of the working group’s thoughts is that e-bikes should be treated just like regular bicycles,” said Lambert. “If we allow them on the bike path and/or Atlantic Avenue it will get them off the actual Boardwalk where people are wreaking a lot of havoc.”
Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson lives at the Oceanfront and has seen people riding e-bikes on the Boardwalk at high rates of speed.
“They weave in and out,” she said at a recent council meeting. “It’s really, really dangerous.”
Wilson supports allowing e-bikes on the Boardwalk bike path only.
Resident Nancy Parker takes morning walks on the Boardwalk, but she worries about her safety and other pedestrians when e-bike riders whiz by her, she said at the RAC meeting.
“It can be a zoo,” Parker said.
The work group is comprised of representatives from the city’s police department, parks and recreation, transportation division, Active Transportation Advisory Committee and the RAC, among others. Members want General Assembly support for e-bike improvements in safety, user education and the collection of statewide e-bike crash data. An item with these measures will be requested in the city’s 2026 legislative agenda, Lambert said.
A city proposal that would require e-bike users of all ages to wear a helmet is in the works, Lambert told a RAC subcommittee on Thursday. Currently, e-bikes fall under the same helmet rule as traditional bicycles in Virginia Beach. Only riders 14 years old and younger are required to wear helmets.
The work group is keeping in mind that e-bikes are not just for recreation, and that across the city, workers are using e-bikes to get to their jobs, Lambert said.
“We don’t want to deter people that are using these as transportation,” he said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
https://www.dailypress.com/2025/08/31/virginia-beach-looks-to-reel-in-electric-bikes/
