Committee backs citywide ban on motorized devices in parks with narrow exceptions
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Summary
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee recommended that the City Commission adopt an ordinance banning motorized micro‑mobility devices in city parks while excluding three connector locations, citing safety and the need for predictable enforcement.
The Miami Beach Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee on March 30 recommended the City Commission adopt an ordinance that would prohibit the operation of motorized micro‑mobility devices in city parks while allowing limited exceptions for specified connector routes.
The committee’s motion, adopted by acclamation, sends the ordinance to the full commission with a favorable recommendation that excludes Flamingo Park (the cross‑intersection along Jefferson and 13th Street), Collins Canal Park and the park north of the convention center.
Committee members said the core intent is to protect pedestrians in park interiors while preserving safe, continuous routes for e‑bikes and other devices where park paths serve as connectors to bike lanes. “Keep Flamingo Park for pedestrians and regular bicycles and put micro‑mobility devices into the bike lanes where they belong,” a committee member said during the discussion.
Supporters argued the change will reduce dangerous interactions on narrow park paths and improve quality of life for seniors, families and pet owners. Opponents cautioned that enforcement is limited by current records: police told the committee that uniform traffic citations (UTCs) do not yet include a specific field for e‑mobility vehicles, so crash and citation data for e‑devices are not cleanly tracked until a statewide reporting change takes effect in October.
Transportation staff and the city attorney described where code already bans devices—interior pathways at Collins Park and Southpointe Park, the Beach Walk and other promenades—and said the ordinance would expand existing site‑by‑site prohibitions into a citywide park rule, with narrowly carved exceptions where a connector path is necessary to maintain safe circulation.
The chair said staff will forward the committee’s amended recommendation to the full commission. The ordinance is expected to include signage and an education phase; commissioners asked staff to consider how to make exceptions clear so visitors and residents know where devices are allowed.
Next steps: the amended ordinance will go to the City Commission for final consideration.
