E-bikes on the agenda at this week's Township Board Meeting

If you've been on the pathways in The Woodlands over the last few years, you may have noticed the increase in e-bikes, electric scooters, and other "electric micromobility" devices. In 2021, Bike The Woodlands published a brief position paper on the subject, advocating for a speed limit on the pathways, increased educational programming around pathway usage, and updated policies about safe and appropriate uses of the pathway system. You can read that paper in a blog post on our website here.

After years of conversations with Township staff and board members, we were eager to see the e-bike issue back on the Township Board's agenda for their board meeting this Thursday 6/19 at 6 PM. As you can see from the agenda item here, the board and staff commissioned a micromobility study about the current state of pathway use, the micromobility devices currently out there, and what courses of action the Township board might take to address the changing needs of the community. The study comes down to two main options; allow certain electric micro-mobility devices (EMDs) on the pathways, or do not allow any EMDs on the pathways. 
 
We encourage you to read the study and consider how updating pathway policies might affect you. If you have strong feelings on the subject or a perspective you'd like to share, we encourage you to email our Township board members or attend the meeting to offer a three-minute perspective in the Public Comment section of the board meeting. You can arrive to sign up to speak around 5:30 PM.

We'll be sure to send a newsletter later this week with a recap of this meeting and any next steps that the board takes. You can attend the meeting or watch it online via the live feed or after the fact via recording. 

Here’s a link to the full agenda item that the Township Board of Directors will consider.

And here’s a link to the Risk Assessment study.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for helping us build a better community through bicycling!