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A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 3 sepTember 2019
Electric bikes soon to be humming along national park trails

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER agency officials 30 days to
DAVID SHARP come up with public guid-
Associated Press ance on how the new poli-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mo- cy will be carried out by the
torized electric bicycles National Park and National
may soon be humming Wildlife Refuge systems,
along serene trails in nation- and on land overseen by
al parks and other public the Bureau of Land Man-
lands nationwide. It’s part agement and Bureau of
of a new Trump administra- Reclamation.
tion order — hotly opposed The National Park Service
by many outdoors groups said in a statement that
— that will allow e-bikes on public comment would be
every federal trail where a sought as it works to devel-
regular bike can go. op a revised rule on bicycle
Sales of the bikes, pow- use.
ered by both pedals and Ashley Korenblat, an advo-
battery-driven small mo- cate for preserving public
tors, are booming, and lands and CEO of West-
some aging or less fit peo- ern Spirit Cycling in Moab,
ple have sought the rule Utah, saw several upsides.
change. It will allow them E-bikes could lead to fewer
to whirr up and down bik- In this photo taken Sept. 23, 2018, a mountain biker pedals past a No E-bikes sign in the San cars at congested national
ing trails in the country’s Bernardino National Forest near Big Bear Lake, Calif. parks, she said. The bikes
roughly 400 national parks Associated Press are quiet, not much faster
and other federally man- vancy and Pacific Crest stress for nature, Brengel sidewalks, people moving than regular bikes and al-
aged backcountry areas. Trail Association, objected said. “You’re adding signifi- on vehicles powered by low people who otherwise
Interior Secretary David in a July letter to the Inte- cant speed and a throttle electric or gasoline engines couldn’t physically ride to
Bernhardt signed the order rior Department. They say to those trails.” frequently jostle for the right go cycling.
without fanfare Thursday, the administration is funda- E-bikes are the fastest- of way with people on foot “You can bring grandma
classifying e-bikes as non- mentally changing the na- growing segment of the or traditional bikes. In the and a 7-year-old and the
motorized bikes. ture of national parks with bicycle industry, with U.S. National Park Service, of- whole group will be able to
The e-bikes “make bicycle little or no public notice or sales jumping 72% to $144 ficials over the decades stay together,” said Koren-
travel easier and more ef- study. million last year, according have tried to carefully sort blat.
ficient, and they provide “If you’re hiking on a trail in to the NPD Group, which out rules and systems to Adam Gariepy, manager
an option for people who Utah and you’re rounding tracks bike sales. The mo- minimize conflicts. of the Bar Harbor Bicycle
want to ride a bicycle but a bend and something’s torized bikes are popular In their letter, the outdoor Shop, said Friday he’s “ten-
might not otherwise do so coming at you at 20 mph, with commuters and aging groups complained the tatively happy” about the
because of physical fit- that really changes the baby boomers who might decision to allow motorized new rules. But he has res-
ness, age, disability or con- experience,” said Kristen not otherwise get out on a bikes on bike trails breaks ervations because some
venience,” National Park Brengel, a vice president of bicycle. with policies dating back e-bikes like his can reach
Service Deputy Director P. the National Parks Conser- The bikes, which can cost to the early 1970s confining around 28 mph, he said.
Daniel Smith said in a state- vation Association, a non- $2,000 or more, combine cars, dirt bikes, all-terrain That speed could be dan-
ment Friday. profit that advocates for the frame of a regular bike vehicles and all other mo- gerous on trails that have a
Welcoming the change in the national park system. with lightweight batteries torized vehicles to roads mix of bicycle riders, horses
Bar Harbor, Maine, on Fri- “It’s pretty jarring” to those and electric motors. and designated areas or and carriages, hikers, fami-
day, Gordon Goodwin, 69, who take to public lands In parks and other public trails on public lands. lies and pets.
said he and his wife look to escape city noise and lands as on city streets and Interior’s order allows mo- “It’s a two-edged sword. It’ll
forward to riding the 57 torized bikes that can go be great for older folks who
miles (92 kilometers) of car- up to 28 mph to be classi- are afraid of the hills and
riage paths that meander fied as regular bikes. want to continue riding.
throughout Acadia Nation- “Parks are already having But there should be some
al Park. a shortage of staffs and speed limit with them,” he
The paths, offering stunning rangers,” said Randy Ras- said.
views of lakes, mountains, mussen, whose organiza- Park Service Deputy Direc-
forests and the ocean, are tion, Back Country Horse- tor Smith said the parks
popular with bicyclists, but men of America, opposes “should be responsive to
e-bikes have had to stay on the rules. “And now what: visitors’ interest in using this
the park’s roads instead. they’re supposed to be out new technology wherever
“We’re stoked. We’re re- there with radar guns? It’s it is safe and appropriate to
ally stoked,” Goodwin said. unenforceable.” do.”
“There’s just too much traf- He suspects riders going But Brengel, the parks
fic on the main park roads faster than permitted will conservation association
that you can’t enjoy them. create dangerous encoun- official, noted the order
It’ll be great to get in the ters with spooked horses. comes in a season when
park and see nature and The Interior statement said thousands of volunteers
all that stuff.” riders must use the motor with trail groups have been
But more than 50 hiking, only to boost their pedal- in the parks all summer im-
horse-riding and other out- In this Aug. 1, 2016, file photo, the official start of racing kicks off ing on the trails, and not proving trails.
door and conservation as- just outside of Zion National Park during the Tour Of Utah bike zip along on motor power “You put a policy out like
sociations, including the race, in Springdale, Utah. alone. this, and it’s a slap in the
Appalachian Trail Conser- Associated Press Bernhardt’s order gave face,” she said.q