Some insight on this: I was on a community board that has been agitating around this issue - the anti-ebike crowd simply does not care about things like evidence, data, alternative options, or historical examples. The board resovled to support (against my vote) a measure that would impose much stricter license/registration/insurance requirements than exist for comparably powerful gas mopeds. The backlash is best understood as a cynical attempt to cater to elderly reactionaries - show a loud minority that their voices are the ones that matter, rather than those of the (largely nonwhite immigrant) riders
Some insight on this: I was on a community board that has been agitating around this issue - the anti-ebike crowd simply does not care about things like evidence, data, alternative options, or historical examples. The board resovled to support (against my vote) a measure that would impose much stricter license/registration/insurance requirements than exist for comparably powerful gas mopeds. The backlash is best understood as a cynical attempt to cater to elderly reactionaries - show a loud minority that their voices are the ones that matter, rather than those of the (largely nonwhite immigrant) riders
Yes, the racism inherent in the flareup a couple of years ago about ebike riders in affluent parts of the city was very apparent.