On a warm evening in downtown Woodstock, Main Street is exactly what merchants like Dave Smith want to see: restaurants buzzing, families strolling from shop to shop and sidewalks packed with people.
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But Smith says another trend has become harder to ignore.
“I see not only the bikes, but people on skateboards and scooters just hauling down the sidewalks,” he said.
After 26 years of running a business downtown, Smith says he has watched electric bikes and other motorized devices become a more common sight. While he understands why people use them, he worries they’re sharing increasingly crowded sidewalks with pedestrians who aren’t expecting someone to speed past them.
“I don’t know if they’re gonna run over somebody or not, but it’s just not safe to see them on the sidewalks,” Smith said.
Longtime Woodstock residents Jennifer and David Cook have noticed the same thing.
“Especially in this part of town at night,” David Cook said. “It’s crowded.”
Those concerns are at the center of a proposal before the Woodstock City Council that would reshape where e-bikes can be ridden throughout the city.
The ordinance would ban bicycles, e-bikes and other motorized personal transportation devices from riding on sidewalks, expand the downtown no-ride zone along Main Street from Oak Street to Fowler Street, and require riders to be at least 18 years old to operate Class 1 e-bikes on paved city trails. The proposal would also cap speeds for those devices on city trails at 20 mph.
Children younger than 13 would still be allowed to ride traditional bicycles on sidewalks, while non-motorized devices, including skateboards and scooters, could continue to be used in most areas outside the restricted downtown zone.
City officials say the proposal is designed to keep pace with Woodstock’s rapid growth, balancing new ways of getting around with the safety of the thousands of people who fill downtown sidewalks every week.
For business owners like Smith, the conversation isn’t about discouraging e-bikes. He says it’s about making sure everyone has room to enjoy downtown safely.
The Woodstock City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance Monday night.
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