Committee votes to update municipal code to prohibit electric motorized bikes and similar vehicles in Mission Trail Nature Preserve

The Carmel-by-the-Sea Traffic Safety Committee voted May 28 to direct staff to draft an ordinance amendment that would explicitly prohibit electric motorized bicycles and similar motorized vehicles from the Mission Trail Nature Preserve and other pedestrian paths where wheeled‑vehicle operation is already restricted.

Karen Ferlito, president of Friends of Mission Trail Nature Preserve, described repeated incidents of electric bicycles and a small motorcycle using pedestrian trails and the preserve boardwalk, including trail‑cutting and a recorded motorcycle on a trail camera. Ferlito told the committee that existing municipal code (cited by staff as Muni Code 10.40.025) prohibits many wheeled contrivances in parks and on pedestrian paths but does not explicitly reference modern electric bicycles, making enforcement difficult.

Committee members and commenters expressed safety and fire‑risk concerns: motorized vehicles can reach higher speeds, cut newly established trails, and deposit hot exhaust near dry grasses or wooden boardwalks. Staff and members discussed differences among electric‑assist bicycle classes (class 1, class 2, class 3) and noted that pedal‑assist class 1 devices are different from throttle‑driven devices and small motorcycles. Because distinguishing classes in the field can be difficult and enforcement impractical, the committee agreed the simplest immediate step is to prohibit electric motorized bicycles and motorcycles on preserve trails and to update signage and enforcement language accordingly.

The committee approved a motion asking staff to draft ordinance language, coordinate any required signage approvals and to bring the revision back to the committee and then to council as necessary. The committee recorded the motion and carried it on a roll call vote.