There’s nothing we like more in the summer then cruising around NYC in a Citi Bike, but now they’re set to get slowed down a bit more for safety reasons.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration announced last week that all pedal-assist Citi Bike e-bikes will now have to abide by a 15 mph speed limit, a reduction from the previous limit of 18 mph.
“Following direction from City Hall and DOT, we’ve reduced Citi Bike pedal assist speeds on our ebike fleet,” Citi Bike General Manager, Patrick Knoth said last Friday about taking action on Adams’ demand.
As reported by Gothamist, Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro rejected a proposal from Citi Bike asking the city to add speedometers to the e-bikes.
The rejection therefore leaves the 15 mph speed limit in the hands of the riders, self-checking themselves to (hope) they’re abiding the 15 mph law.
All of this discourse by the mayor’s administration comes as part of his plan to make city streets safer.
“I have heard, over and over again, from New Yorkers about how their safety — and the safety of their children — has been put at risk due to speeding e-bikes and e-scooters,” Adams said in statement earlier this June.
“We have an obligation to keep everyone safe.”
Additionally, the plan is to explore installing additional physical safety measures in city parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park, to protect both riders of e-bikes and pedestrians walking near them.
So far, over 87.5 miles of new protected bike lanes have been built and an additional 20 miles of bike lanes upgraded in the past three year to meet record demand for bike infrastructure throughout New York City.