Suffolk lawmakers passed new e-bike laws this year. Now some want to tweak them.

Peter St. Germaine feels “like a caged animal” in a car.

For any trip within a few miles of his home, the 44-year-old Setauket resident prefers to trade in his car keys for an electric bicycle, a mode of transportation he's relied on for several years ever since e-bikes gained popularity.

“I think the less time a human can spend in a car the happier they’re going to be and I’m realizing that’s true,” he said. 

Now St. Germaine, president of the Three Village Civic Association, said he feels like he and other e-bike enthusiasts are being "punished" after learning of recently enacted Suffolk County legislation regulating the use of electric bicycles and scooters. He's since joined a growing chorus of residents pushing back and arguing the  law — intended to reduce reckless driving by young people and add safety measures — is overly restrictive on an older population that uses e-bikes responsibly for both recreation and transportation.  

Suffolk lawmakers say they’re willing to reexamine parts of the legislation signed into law in December, hoping Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holbrook) backs the changes and moves it for a floor vote. The core components of the law — prohibiting reckless driving such as disregarding pedestrians, weaving around vehicles and requiring riders to wear helmets — are unlikely to change, but lawmakers said there could be some revisions such as allowing some classifications of e-bikes in county parks.

“If you’re allowed to use a bicycle in a park, why should you not be able to use an e-bike if it’s controlled, meaning not crazy scooters and things that go too fast?” said Legis. Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport), who has taken a lead role in gathering information on potential changes.

She said that decision, however, needs to be in consultation with the Suffolk County Parks Department.

Legis. Steven Flotteron (R-Brightwaters), who chairs the legislature’s public safety committee, said during a recent meeting that he and Bontempi had started discussions on potential changes after receiving feedback from residents. 

“We have to maybe reexamine some of these things and work with the legislators to find something we all do agree on,” he said in response to concerns raised by some residents.

Piccirillo told Newsday he hasn't been involved in the discussions but would be willing to look at any recommendations fellow lawmakers present.

In April, police and county officials held a news conference to remind the public of the regulations as warmer weather arrived. The new legislation gave police greater authority to impound e-bikes and scooters.

Since May 4, Suffolk police have seized 45 electric bicycles or scooters, a spokesperson told Newsday. Impounded electric scooters or bicycles are subject to a $50 administrative processing fee and a storage fee of $5 per day. The law allows police to seize any electric bike or scooter operated by someone under 16 years old or for riding in a "reckless fashion," such as "zig-zagging" around motor vehicles.

Fines range from $500 for a first violation to $1,500 for a second violation and $5,000 for a third violation within five years. Police did not have immediate figures available for the amount of revenue generated so far through fines.

Electric bicycles capable of reaching speeds more than 20 mph, anything above a Class 1 or Class 2, are prohibited. The law further restricts allowable e-bikes and scooters from operating on county or local roads with a speed limit of more than 30 mph to avoid potential dangerous collisions between riders and vehicles. Flotteron said some of the feedback lawmakers have gotten centers on that restriction, which he said can box some people into residential neighborhoods.

"If you lived in any of these little hamlets, can you go into town to get your haircut or go to the deli or whatever else?" he said, adding that bicycles would already be riding on some of the roads with speed limits of 35 mph, as an example.

St. Germaine said he hasn't run into any problems yet since the new laws took effect, but he uses his Class 1, pedal-assist e-bike, which maxes at 20 mph, on roads with speed limits above 30 mph like Route 25A.

“Technically, I guess I’m breaking the law, but it certainly hasn’t stopped me,” he said. 

Joseph Betz, a planning and policy professional who served on the Brookhaven Planning Board, uses his e-bike in Stony Brook to travel for everyday errands like a trip to the food store, pharmacy or bank.

He said there’s an overall tendency on Long Island for policies that “promote automobiles above any other mode of transportation, and it's at the expense of pedestrians, walking, regular cyclists, e-bike cyclists.”

“We can make a better law that targets the intended problem and promotes sustainable communities and less reliance on a car,” he said.

Nancy Winkler, of North Babylon, called the law “overreaching” during a committee meeting and said it “penalizes responsible electric bicycle riders.” She said she and her husband, who are in their mid-60s, both ride Class 1 electric bicycles.

Suffolk lawmakers already passed a follow-up law earlier this year to set specific e-bike regulations for Fire Island, such as allowing them on sidewalks in the beachfront communities during the offseason. 

Noah Miterko, senior manager of state and local policy at PeopleForBikes, a nonprofit that advocates for bicycle-friendly policies, said problems in New York are similar to what communities are facing across the country. Specifically, he said, is the growth of faster, all-electric motorcycles and dirt bikes that are mingled together with lower-speed electric bicycles that “have really made a positive impact on the micromobility ecosystem.”

He said there’s “valid concern” about faster electric motorcycles known as e-motos, particularly when kids are riding them.

He said the organization supports low-speed e-bikes having the same access as traditional bicycles at parks.

“A lot of older folks ride those for leisure and there are a lot of folks who maybe don’t have the physical capability to ride a traditional bike for whatever reason and they should be allowed to be on these paths as well,” he said.