NYC now has a 15 mph speed limit for e-bikes, but critics doubt it will make a difference

Mayor Eric Adams announced the speed limit for out-of-control electric bike riders would be reduced to 15 mph — but locals doubt whether it will make the streets any safer.The new speed limit for e-bikes, electric scooters and pedal-assist commercial bicycles comes as it’s become a fact of life for pedestrians to have to duck and dodge delivery riders at breakneck speeds.“I have heard, over and over again, from New Yorkers about how their safety — and the safety of their children — has been put at risk due to speeding e-bikes and e-scooters,” Adams said this week.“Today, our administration is saying enough is enough.The city previously did not have a specific speed limit for e-bikes and followed the state’s rule, which allowed speeds up to 25 mph for certain e-bikes.

Citibikes cannot go over 18 mph.A 15 mph threshold already applied to stand-up e-scooters in the Big Apple.Aligning the standards will reduce collisions across the city’s expanding bike lane network, according to the Adams administration. But critics wonder how the speed limit will be enforced — with the riders already routinely going through red lights, traveling in the wrong direction of one-way streets and breaking a long list of other traffic laws.Republican candidate for mayor Curtis Sliwa blasted Adams’ new limit.“It’s the bare minimum, and I don’t even think it’s enforceable,” Sliwa posted to X. “This is just throwing red meat to the masses.”E-bikes are not required to be registered, don’t have license plates and they face no mandatory inspections.

That would make it hard for cops to keep track of which driver they gave a ticket to and even harder for the city to collect any fines.Queens Councilmember Bob Holden said a new limit is “nowhere near enough.”“It’s good that people acknowledge the e-bike chaos on our streets, but it’s nowhere near enough,” Holden said.“These riders have been ignoring traffic laws for years, and without license pl...