Durango, CO: Electric bikes cause revolt on river trail

[LockH]

"Durango bans pedal-assist bikes on trails"
(City Council cites public safety in enforcing ban on Durango trails)
http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20160506/NEWS01/160509707/-1/s

"... for safety reasons."

“I think it’s better to err on the side of public safety,” said Councilor Sweetie Marbury, before the council voted on the issue.

(In other news, Councillor pushes for residents to stay in bed. For safety reasons.)

 

[LockH]

[youtube]n8NskdY_knc[/youtube]

[sigh]

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Very sad to see this, Portland, OR hasn't gone this route fortunately (I live in Oregon City, but we are pretty much a suburb of Portland, so anything that happens there usually makes it way here good or bad).

I have seen a up-surge in interest and awareness of E-Bikes, and I know there are a few big name shops in Portland now, but I guess chalk this up to the "Keep Portland Weird" slogan, but it's a good thing this time. :lol:

Years ago I feared the strong pedal bike only community would seek to ban E-Bikes here too, fortunately, cooler heads have triumphed! 8)

We have seen a huge interest in E-Bikes compared to just a few years ago in OR City, and I think now that enough people can see the value (and enough baby boomers are getting older and have a desire for a little E-Assist) of a well made E-Bike VS "cheap is good and cheaper's better" mentality that relegated E-Bikes to a few under-powered and poorly designed BSO's sold at Walmart, now people are willing to pay what a good E-Bike is worth, realizing it really does make a difference to buy quality, and no longer is it only available to those handy enough to build their own, or willing to pay for the "luxury item" price for super high end models.

 

[Sunder]

What's a hook turn?

The original article is pretty sad. What does it take to make ebikes accepted?

This is gonna really confuse you, since you drive on the opposite side of the road to you. Basically a hook turn is where you wait in a left hand lane until the lights turn red. Then you proceed to turn right (Remember we drive on the opposite side of the road to you)

The intent is allow cars who wish to go straight, to do so, while you wait for a tram to clear the intersection.

 

[Adverse Effects]

so you get in to the left lane to turn right?
AND
you wait to turn right (from the left lane) till the light turns RED (stop light)

and the strange thing is i am an Aussie and your only about 1000Km south of me and it confuses ME ! ! !