New regulations on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail could help police better respond to complaints about e-bikes and other electric vehicles.
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) will consider the regulations at the Nov. 19 meeting of its Board of Directors. The proposal would classify what types of vehicles are allowed on the trail — excluding e-motos and limiting what kinds of e-bikes can be used — and make any violation a misdemeanor resulting in a fine.
The expanded use of electric scooters, e-bikes and e-motos has caused concerns for pedestrians and drivers throughout the region in recent years. Ryan Corder, W&OD Trail’s manager, said he’s constantly getting emails or phone calls about people going fast on the vehicles.
“That’s the No. 1 complaint that comes into my office almost daily,” he said.
NOVA Parks is an inter-jurisdictional organization spanning Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax. There’s not much it can currently do to tackle the problem because it doesn’t have policing powers.
Those responsibilities fall to each jurisdiction that the trail passes through on its 45-mile trek between Shirlington and Purcellville. It’s further complicated, Corder said, because there are no concrete regulations around the vehicles for police to enforce.
“We don’t currently have the rules adopted in the proper way to do the enforcement side of it,” he said. “There’s no enforcement really happening because the police are saying there’s no code for them to cite.”
Corder said officials considered implementing a speed limit, but police departments opposed the move and it could have affected cyclists. Instead, the regulations focus on classifying the types of vehicles.
The regulation would define what type of vehicle is allowed on the trail. For electric bikes, the motor must have an input of no more than 750 watts and pedals that allow propulsion by the driver. That automatically excludes e-motorcycles, which can reach speeds in excess of 40 mph.
The proposal puts the bikes in three classes. The first two cap out at 20 mph and are differentiated by how the pedal system works. The third class caps at 28 mph.
Class three e-bikes, motorized vehicles exceeding 750 watts, vehicles without pedals that aren’t scooters or skateboards and vehicles with only one wheel would be prohibited from the trail.
Violations of the regulation would be a class 4 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $250.
If the proposal is approved, NOVA Parks will install new signage at trailheads and run a social media campaign to boost awareness, Corder said.
The new regulations are being proposed while Arlington County is undertaking a campaign to boost safety in response to the community concerns by highlighting the difference between e-bikes, which are allowed on local trails but can be hazardous at high speeds, and e-motorcycles, which aren’t allowed on county trails at all.
“The technology has come so far so fast,” Corder said. “I think the laws just need to get caught up with the technology.”
The Board of Directors meets at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court, Vienna.
