GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Grand Haven City Council approved amendments earlier this month to its existing wheeled device ordinance, expanding restrictions to include e-bikes, e-scooters, and the city's 1.5-mile pedestrian boardwalk along the Grand River Harbor.
WATCH: Grand Haven bans e-bikes and e-scooters from boardwalk in updated city ordinance
The amendments update three sections of the City Code — Sections 25-40, 25-44, and 36-8 — and were recommended by the Grand Haven Public Safety Department.
The ordinance previously prohibited wheeled devices — including regular bikes and scooters — in the downtown area between Harbor Drive and Third Street during a seasonal "Wheel Control Zone" running from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Under the updated ordinance, that area is now designated a "No Wheel Zone."
The restriction also applies within the 100 block of Washington Avenue whenever the street is closed to vehicular traffic during that same seasonal period.
"The change in the ordinance was just to include these e-bikes and e-scooters," Grand Haven Public Safety Department Capt. Lee Adams said. "Now the ordinance also includes that area in the roadway and sidewalks for any wheeled devices, except for ADA compliant devices."
Bikes are permitted in the roadway throughout the restricted area, except within the 100 block of Washington Avenue when the street is closed to vehicular traffic.
The changes also affect the boardwalk, where e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-skateboards are now prohibited. Prior to the changes, the only device prohibited on the boardwalk was a regular skateboard.
Regular bikes are still permitted on the boardwalk, but reckless riding remains a violation.
"If you're on a regular bike on the boardwalk and you're driving it reckless, you're not getting out of the way for pedestrians or telling pedestrians that you're coming up behind them or you crash into somebody and hurt somebody. It's still a violation of that ordinance," Adams said.
The amendments came after the department received a significant volume of complaints from the public.
"We've gotten a lot of complaints, and that's kind of what sparked the city to look into including these ordinance or these definitions in our ordinance that's already there," Adams said.
Lansing resident Denise Preston, who visits Grand Haven regularly with her grandchildren, said the safety concerns were noticeable.
"There are so many families with small children, and those e-bikes seem to go quite fast, and so it's very hard to keep your small children, you know, out of the path of that," Preston said.
Preston said she supports the council's decision.
"I would applaud them for that vote, and I think that's definitely a good idea and one that is going to be a lot safer for all of the people that come out here and walk the boardwalk," Preston said.
Adams said the department plans to prioritize education before moving to enforcement.
"They're going to be out on foot talking to people. We're also going to we're having signs made up for the downtown area and the boardwalk that'll actually say no wheel zone and what's included and what's not," Adams said. "Then we'll start ramping up enforcement a little bit. But a violation of the that city ordinance is a municipal civil infraction, and it can be up to $100 fine."
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