Andover Town Meeting Rejects Cops’ E-Bike Registry Proposal
Voters in Andover’s Town Meeting have rejected their town police department’s proposal to mandate a new e-bike registration system that would have only applied to lower-speed pedal-assist bicycles.
Warrant Article 39, submitted at the request of Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe, proposed that “all electric bicycles operated or stored within the Town of Andover must be registered with the Andover Police Department” with fines of up to $300 per violation.
However, the proposed bylaw would have only applied to “class 1” and “class 2” pedal-assist e-bikes – defined in state law as bikes with a smaller electric motor of 750 watts or less that ceases to operate at speeds over 20 mph.
Higher-speed electric dirt bikes and motorcycles would have remained unregulated under the police department’s proposal.
“By and large, we all kind of agree on what the problem is: there are predominantly young folks riding around town on high-powered bikes in a way that is unsafe and technically against the rules,” says Andrew Lewine, an advocate with WalkBike Andover.
“But we strongly feel that low-speed e-bikes are kind of the solution; it’s great that kids are out on their own, we love the independence it provides, to be able to go out and see friends and get around the town. The fact that they’re riding 30 or 40 mph is not so great. So we need to figure out ways to get those kids onto legal e-bikes,” Lewine continued.
The proposed warrant article was the very last item on this year’s Town Meeting, held on April 29 and 30 (Andover has an open town meeting, which means that any registered voter can show up and vote electronically).
Town meeting voters rejected the proposal 69 percent to 27 percent.
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