Crestview council adopts downtown ban on e-bikes and scooters, keeps helmet requirement

The Crestview City Council on Jan. 12 adopted Ordinance 2,009 on second reading, adding electric bicycles and similar micro-mobility devices to a downtown prohibition and creating a new code chapter for e-bikes and motorized scooters.

Staff told the council the ordinance aligns Crestview rules with countywide language and expands section 74-6 — which already bans skateboards and rollerblades from downtown sidewalks — to include electric variants. Staff asked the council to adopt the measure and send it to the mayor for signature.

Why it matters: downtown sidewalks see heavy pedestrian traffic near the recently completed Main Street streetscape project; staff said the ban aims to protect the streetscape and reduce public-safety conflicts between pedestrians and fast-moving devices.

A member of the public, Michael Sharp, told the council he objected to the ordinance’s blanket helmet requirement. “I’m 58 years old. … I bought an ebike until I can save up. I shouldn’t have to wear a helmet,” Sharp said, adding that Florida law treats electric bicycles like bicycles and that helmet rules in state statute apply to riders under 16.

Mayor responded that county and municipal officials sought consistent rules across jurisdictions. “It it it's a good point and it was a lot of controversy,” the mayor said, explaining the group’s rationale that e-bikes were treated differently than motorcycles because there is no insurance opt-out for e-bike users.

Councilman Hayes moved and Councilman Frost seconded adoption of Ordinance 2,009 on second reading; the ordinance passed 3-0 with two absentees.

The ordinance text creates chapter 74, article 4, addressing electric bicycles, motorized scooters and micro-mobility devices, and provides for findings, severability and an effective date. The council did not change the helmet provision during the meeting; no effective date beyond the ordinance language was specified at the meeting.