MARQUETTE — At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Marquette City Commission, the commission voted unanimously to pass an ordinance which would allow electric mobility devices not greater than 750 watts on the multi-use path, ban reckless riding, and ban the use of mobility devices on sidewalks in the downtown district. The ordinance went into effect immediately upon adoption, and any violations will result in civil infractions.

None of these changes will supersede ADA regulations, meaning that, for example, a wheelchair would still be allowed on the sidewalk despite being a mobility device.

The ordinance allows the following vehicles on the city’s multi-use paths:

≤ Human-powered mobility devices, such as non-motorized bicycles, scooters, and skateboards.

≤ Electric mobility devices, including all three classes of e-bike, electric skateboards, including one-wheels, electric personal assistive mobility devices, such as mobility scooters and “any other wheeled device powered solely by human power and an electric motor not greater than 750 watts.”

This list excludes e-motos, which are also illegal on city streets, as well as golf carts and other larger vehicles.

The section of the ordinance which prohibits reckless activity sets out a list of expectations for behavior on multi-use paths, including:

≤ That users will not travel at speeds “greater than what is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard for actual and potential hazards.” The open language and lack of specific speed limit is on account of difficulty gauging the exact speed of bikes, and also takes into account the various levels of congestion along the path.

That users will “exercise full control over the mobility device they are using” on any street, parking lot, sidewalk, or designated multi-use path, which is meant to address behavior such as wheelies.

≤ That users stay to the right side of the bike path, and that no group of users, including their animals and mobility devices, will take up more than half of the paths

≤ That users will pass to the left at a safe distance.

≤ That users entering the path will yield to oncoming “traffic.”

≤ That users will obey traffic control devices such as stop and yield signs.

≤ That users will use devices carrying only the number of people for which the device was designed and equipped to carry.

In the coming months, the language of the reckless riding section of the ordinance may be expanded to include sidewalks, as well as the multi-use pathway.

The banning of mobility devices on downtown sidewalks applies to the following locations:

≤ Washington Street between Lakeshore Boulevard and Seventh Street

≤ Third Street between Fair Avenue and Baraga Avenue

≤ Front Street between Ridge Street and Baraga Avenue

The ordinance also allows the Chief of Police and City Manager to temporarily designate locations and times at which all mobility devices (apart from those designated by the ADA, such as wheelchairs) may not be operated on multi-use paths at all, such as during construction or certain events / festivals.

The meeting began with public comments, which featured concerns including requests that bikes and other mobility devices be banned from all city sidewalks, not merely those in the DDA district, and requests that the city integrate more bicycle lanes on roadways to avoid bicyclists riding on sidewalks in the first place.

These concerns were addressed by the Marquette City Manager.

“There are certain areas, especially at drop-off and pickup for schools, where there is a mix of bikes, cars and buses,” said Marquette City Manager Karen Kovacs, in response to comments about bikes on sidewalks. “I’m thinking specifically of our Middle School area, that I would not personally feel comfortable at all having my child on the street with those cars … In consulting with our police department, they have also advised that they don’t want to be pushing our kids onto some of those streets as well.”

Kovacs went on to say that adding lines for designated bike lanes would continue to be looked into as the budget allowed.

The passing of this ordinance comes after years of work on behalf of the city, especially the e-bike task force formed in 2025 and chaired by commissioner Cary Gottlieb.

“When Mayor Hanley asked me about a year ago if I would chair the e-bike multi-use pathway task force, I recall saying that nobody would be happy with the results of the task force’s suggestions and it would require compromise,” said Gottlieb. “I was right … I doubted that anybody would be 100% satisfied by the motion made, but I think this is a start.

“I don’t think this motion is the end of the e-bike controversy. Obviously, more work needs to be done including signage, ideally widening the path, placement of a center line in some areas at least and future consideration to speed limits if technology permits.

“I realize that the issue we are addressing cannot be solved as a simple ordinance, but the ordinance points to what the task force suggested. It’s the biker, not the bike, that’s the problem. The ordinance is just the beginning. It’s not the final action.”

The ordinance was designed with a number of factors in mind. For example, it widens the devices allowed on the bike path to include class 2 and class 3 e-bikes because it has become impossible to reliably tell the difference between classes of e-bikes, so a ban on upper classes would be impossible to enforce.

Marquette Police Chief Ryan Grimm said that the police department would be working to increase the number of officers and park patrol on and around the bike path to enforce the new ordinance.

In the coming weeks, multi-use pathway users can look out for additional signage advertising the new ordinance.

The full ordinance is available for viewing at marquettemi.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1199/files/attachment/125.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.