Rehoboth Beach Homeowners Raise Concerns Over Electric Bikes & Other Motorized Vehicles

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- In Rehoboth Beach, there are so many ways to get around. 

That includes electric bikes. 

Ellen Moran enjoys riding hers but says she has to be careful of other e-bike riders around her.

"People go really fast with the electric bikes and they weigh like this." Moran said. "Compared to you know a manual bike, it weighs a lot more. And if people aren’t paying attention with an electric bike, they can really hurt somebody."

Electric bikes are becoming more and more popular in the area especially in the beach communities. Owner of Rehoboth Cycle Sports Nathan Baker says that most of the electric bikes he sells and rents do not go over 20 miles per hour.

"If I were on the trail and somebody whizzed by me at 35 miles per hour, that would be a concern," Baker said. "But that seems to be the outlier and not the norm."

But electric bikes are not the only concern. 

Clif Hillderley says some people have been riding motorized scooters in Rehoboth, which is against city code. 

"Particularly in the summertime, Rehoboth is not necessarily the place where you want to be riding in traffic," Hillderley said. "There’s other places to ride."

Communications Manager for the city of Rehoboth Beach Lynne Coan says the mayor and commissioners do not have any official discussions scheduled on motorized vehicles, but have heard the concerns of the homeowners' association and will consider looking into the code.

Rehoboth beach has trails, paths and sidewalks that people can use to enjoy the outdoors. But there may be a look at potential code changes by the mayor and commissioners.