MONTAGUE — Montague City Council member Paul Schultz raised concerns at the Monday, Dec. 18 council meeting over the presence of e-bikes and scooters downtown Montague.
The concerns were first voiced a couple of months ago at a city council meeting while council and city manager, Jeff Auch were trying to refine language in the Ordinance No. 306- clear vision areas, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Refining the ordinance was brought up again at Monday’s meeting. Schultz argued e-bikes and scooters posed a safety risk when allowed downtown, with sidewalks being too narrow and the downtown area being smaller. He says this will also be a growing concern once the social district, which was approved earlier this year, begins operation.
“They are too fast, especially if people aren’t paying attention,” Schultz said.
Council member Laura LaGuire proposed a sign be placed that requires people to walk their e-bikes downtown when signs are put up for the social district. She also voiced concerns about tourists coming on their boats, since many of them use their e-bikes as a main mode of transportation downtown.
Council members Lisa Kiel and Bob Hires agreed with Schultz’s concerns and said they don’t think kids would pay attention to signs regulating the use of e-bikes.
Due to the strong concerns surrounding the topic, amendments to the ordinance were tabled.
Also discussed Monday, Montague has introduced a new platform that will allow citizens to report any road and sidewalk issues that they believe are safety concerns.
“Individuals can add pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety remarks,” said Montague City Manager Jeff Auch. “The more people that drop a pin at the same location and leave similar comments, the more weight it has for future safety concerns.”
White Lake residents have already started dropping a dozen pins with regards to traffic lights, crosswalks near schools, crosswalks for bike safety and more.
To participate and drop a pin, go to https://communityremarks.com/w....
