BAN LIFTED: New Yorkers to Ride E-Vehicles Legally in City Parks this Summer

By Yehudit Garmaise

This summer, residents will be able to ride electric bikes and scooters legally in New York City parks, where e-vehicles are currently banned.

In Brooklyn, in the coming weeks, Prospect Park’s main roadways will be redesigned to provide more space for cyclists, scooterists, and pedestrians getting around on the busy loop in the coming weeks.

After analyzing crash data compiled by the Prospect Park Alliance and the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT), the NYC Parks Department created several ways to improve Prospect Park’s roadway, such as adding a second lane to prevent the collisions that take place as residents cross the roadway, 6sqft reported.

“E-bikes and e-scooters are here to stay,” said Mayor Eric Adams who signed legislation that he said will ensure that the convenient transportation options are safe by banning the sales of used lithium-ion batteries and e-vehicles that fail to meet safety standards.

Last year in NYC, e-vehicle batteries caused 220 fires, which rose significantly from the 44 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in 2020. 

Between 2021 and 2022, the 220 fires killed 10 people and injured 226, said the mayor, who also will provide safe outdoor e-vehicle storage and charging stations called, “street deliverista hubs, so that the city’s many delivery workers do not store their e-vehicles inside, where they can put lives at risk. 

“We are supercharging safety for all of our e-bike and e-scooter users,” Mayor Adams said.