Tell us what you think about the use of e-bikes and e-scooters on Montgomery Parks trails.

It’s a shame the electric scooters have been dumped all along the trails. Whenever I walk along the trails you always see a scooter ditched in some inappropriate location.

I am a 68-year-old for whom cycling is my primary form of exercise, 95% of the time on the Anacostia Tributary Trail System. I ride on these trails 3-4 times per week, year-round except during bad weather. Due to arthritis in my neck and a pinched nerve in my elbow, I cannot ride an upright bike regularly without pain, so I got a recumbent bike about 12 years ago, and I ride that about 3/4 of the time. Climbing hills on that heavy bike caused a flare-up of tendinitis in my knee, so about 7 years ago I had a type 1 e-bike system retrofitted to my recumbent bike. I have been riding that recumbent e-bike on the trails in Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties and in DC for 7 years. The system reduces its assistance to zero as my speed approaches 20 mph, and it is very rare that I exceed 15 mph on the bike. The electric system does not really do anything when I ride along on a flat trail, but it helps a lot when starting out and climbing hills. It is not unusual for young folks on regular bikes to overtake me on my e-bike. As always, it is essential for cyclists to practice proper etiquette on mixed-use trails, slowing when passing other users and yielding the right of way. The presence of type 1 electric assistance on a bike does not make that any more difficult or less likely, does not add any noise to the environment, and does not endanger other trail users if riders exercise the same safe practices that all cyclists need to observe. I strongly support the legality of type 1 e-bikes on county trails.

Please allow us to keep using e-bikes on our neighborhood trails! I use it to commute to work and have never seen any issues. We need these bikes and scooters to help reduce our carbon emissions and provide a easier way for people to have long-distance transportation.

I support the continuation of this program.

Though I'm planning to buy an ebike during retirement for use in less congested parts of the country, I don't think they or scooters belong on county trails. Too much velocity differential with walkers--this would be a hazard to both the power-assisted and self-powered folks using the paths. It's sometimes treacherous even between self-powered cyclists and walkers.

E-scooters and bikes going above 5 mph should not be allowed on the Sligo Creek walkway for the safety of children especially, seniors, and other pedestrians.

Pedestrians walk between 3 and 4 mph. Bikes can go 28 mph and scooters can go 25 mph under the definition here. The posted speed limit of Sligo Creek Parkway is 25 mph . Wheels capable of going that speed belong on the road, not the pedestrian path.

A lot of children and pedestrians and senior citizens get injured by scooter riders who don't stop and who face no consequences for their actions. The scooter companies often don't readily provide information when a scooter hurts a child or other pedestrian. Scooter safety is on the "honor system" and not really enforced by the scooter providers or anyone else. If you and your child are walking and a scooter hits you at full speed and keeps going, you probably can't track them down and neither will the scooter company. Law enforcement can't do much. You're on your own and good luck with the medical bills.

If scooters and bikes only went 5 mph on the pathway instead of 25, it might be less of a problem because everyone on the path would be going the same speed. Or if the scooter companies readily provided information to regularly solve a high rate of hit-and-runs and if perpetrators paid medical costs of hitting and injuring children and other pedestrians, that would create an incentive for safety. But the scooters go too fast, the safety honor system is not effective, there isn't safety enforcement, and scooters continue to hit kids and pedestrians without having to be responsible for injuries and damage they case.

We should keep scooters and bikes off the park pathways for now. Maybe allow them if they're mechanically unable to go above 5 mph. And consider setting and truly enforcing a speed limit for pedestrian pathways, since we seem to need that now.

I recognize that some electric bike and scooter users will be a nuisance, as are some non-electric powered users. However, having electric power allows me to tote my two children. Without power I have to be in our minivan or out on the street, where they are less protected and the cars on Sligo do not want to yield or allow a bike to use the full lane. This keeps us safe and out of the car. However, I would like to see bike patrols on the trail educating users and enforcing speed limits.

I was happy to see the pilot and hope it expands. We have an e-cargo bike which we use to transport our toddler every day (daycare, play, dining, etc.). We live in Takoma DC and regularly enjoy riding up to do errands or dine in Silver Spring, through Rock Creek, etc. using some of the great trails like Sligo Creek.

As an experienced road cyclist, I think it’s also important to clarify that these aren’t electric motorcycles: the assist only helps if you’re actively pedaling and it cuts out well below the speeds which road bicyclists can easily hit (on mine, that’s 20mph). What the assist does is make it easier to use a non-racing bike for commuting, with cargo or kids, instead of using a car - something which is critically important for addressing climate change or implementing a Vision Zero safety & quality of life program. If there are safety issues with people riding at unsafe speeds, we should address those with better infrastructure, education, and enforcement since that will help all users.

E-bikes are motorized vehicles, plain and simple. I think putting them on recreational trails could really alter the experience of being on these trails in a way that degrades the experience for walkers and other bicyclists and also sets a risky precedent that could over time totally change the nature of these trails. If you can ride motorized electric bikes on these trails, why not motorized electric scooters? Motorized electric skateboards? I have read that most e-bikes can go up to 20 mph, some go up to 28 mph. Of course, regular bicycles can go fast too, but it is different if you can get up to that speed just by pressing a button. There will be no way to enforce speed limits, and while I'm sure many will use the e-bikes responsibly, this would probably bring in a lot of people who are just using the trails to get from point A to point B on a motorized vehicle. On city sidewalks it is already a common experience to be startled by some irresponsible person whizzing and weaving around on an electric rental scooter cutting close to pedestrians. I would say at most this should be tried as a pilot experiment on a few limited trail sections, with a careful effort to monitor the results, survey trail users, and assess the results.

I support Montgomery County and Montgomery Parks’ Directive to allow Class 1 electric-assist bicycles on Montgomery Park trails.

I own a Class I electric-assist cargo bike and use it between Takoma Park and Chevy Chase, including on Montgomery County’s Rock Creek Trail. I ride my bike to drop my daughter at preschool, commute to work, and run errands — it allows me to reduce my reliance on my personal car, saves me money on car costs, helps keep me healthy by enabling me to exercise more readily, avoids me having to sit in (and myself create) traffic in my area, and reduces my environmental impact, including improving local air quality. The electric assist allows me to transport my toddler-aged daughter without over-exertion. I am always courteous to my fellow trail-goers and I slow down for hazards. I welcome the opportunity to use my e-bike on additional trails throughout Montgomery County.

I am grateful to the County for its efforts in furtherance of the Bicycle Master Plan and making Montgomery County into a world-class bicycling community, where people in all areas of the County have access to a comfortable, safe and connected bicycle network, and where bicycling is a viable transportation option that improves our quality of life.

My husband who was an avid runner and cyclist had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis the last 6 years of his life.The e-bike saved his sanity to enjoy Sligo Creek paths as he had before this disease hit. It truly was a blessing and at age 70 helped me cope too. I have that uplifting memory of his one freedom before his passing.