Saline City Council Votes Against Electric Mobility Ordinance

Saline City Council voted unanimously to postpone the passing of Ordinance 877, which prohibits the use of electric bikes and mobility devices in the downtown Saline area, excepting ADA compliant devices, at the Sept. 8 meeting. The ordinance was originally proposed due to concerns about pedestrian safety and will be returned to city staff for further amendments and the consideration of alternative solutions before it will be brought to Council again.

“Following the introduction of the draft e-bike policy, some residents have expressed some concerns that the proposal may feel too restrictive at this time,” Deputy City Manager Elle Cole said. “From the concerns of the e-bikes being pushed onto roads where cars are driving, to the uphill battle of pushing your e-bike up Henry Street, which is a pretty steep hill, we heard from everyone, and we really took it in and listened to them.”

As an alternative first step to addressing the problem, Cole stated the city could instead put in place signage encouraging people to walk their bicycles and other devices on Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. between Henry St. and Michigan Ave.

“Rather than adopting a new stand alone policy or framework at this stage, this approach would address the immediate safety and pedestrian flow while giving us some time to gauge the effectiveness and community response,” she said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Janet Dillon agreed, saying she had received feedback from the community urging Council to look at a more incremental approach to the issue. She also addressed a comment at the initial ordinance’s reading from councilmember Jack Ceo that suggested Saline police would use “common sense” to “interpret” when the ordinance would need to be enforced.

“I really appreciate that we’ve decided to take a step back from this,” Dillon said. “There was definitely some community pushback, and for me, I really don’t feel as though I can support something that we are actually not going to enforce. If we wanted to be a directive where it’s just a community-led initiative with some signage, that’s fine, but if we’re going to put out an ordinance and choose not to enforce it, then I think that’s just a waste of everyone’s time.”

Cole stated that an alternative plan and possible ordinance amendment would be brought to the council at the second Oct. meeting, scheduled for the 20th.