PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Starting Monday, some electric bikes and scooters will be allowed on the pedestrian walkway of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
Motorized vehicles have been banned on the walkway, but the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) is testing an exception to the rule and allowing less-powerful Class 1 and 2 electric bicycles and scooters.
Under the pilot program, e-bike speeds are limited to 15 mph, cyclists must yield to pedestrians, and they must have a horn or audible warning to announce their presence. The 45-day pilot program grew out of a request from the DRPA’s Citizens Advisory Council.
“The technology has advanced to the point where these new e-bikes — the Class 1 and Class 2s, anyway — aren’t really going any faster than what somebody can do on their own,” said DRPA CEO John Hanson.
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He said permitting e-bikes will make the inclined ramp to the bridge’s south walkway more accessible for people who can’t handle the slope.
“It’s hard to tell the difference between these pedal-assist Class 1 or class 2 e-bikes and a regular bike in the way they look. But when you see them going up that ramp to get on the bridge, you can tell the difference,” Hanson explained. “It’s just going to make that walkway more accessible to people who can’t make the climb to get on the bridge.”
Class 3 e-bikes, skateboards and hoverboards, which are gas-powered or motorized, will remain prohibited.
The DRPA will test the program through Aug. 25. The walkway along the bridge is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the summer.