Mackinac Island police chief urges tourists to leave e-bikes at home, will enforce rules

Mackinac Island Police Chief Doug Topolski is urging travelers headed to the iconic vacation destination in northern Michigan to please leave their e-bikes at home.

Motor vehicles have been banned on the island for decades but certain e-bikes are allowed for people with disabilities who both live on or visit the island, per ADA guidelines. Mackinac Island Fire Chief Jason St. Onge sounded warnings earlier this month about his concern for the potential of having a fast-burning e-bike battery fire that could devour historic wooden structures after four bicycle battery-related fires within the past year on the island.

Topolski said e-bike violations are also a problem on the island and riders not following the rules risk warnings, tickets and even the e-bike being impounded.

"We're just asking for people to consider whether they really need a powered vehicle to enjoy the island and if they do, to use it responsibly and make themselves aware of the restrictions on the type of e-bike they can use," Topolski said. "However, we're not naive and we know that we're not going to change human nature, so we'll be enforcing state and local laws on the type of e-bike that can be used on the island and under what circumstances."

Here's what to know, according to Topolski :

Who can ride e-bikes on Mackinac Island?

Visitors, residents, employers and employees with mobility disabilities as outlined by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

What kind of e-bike is allowed?

Only a Class I e-Bike, which has a motor that provides pedal assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance at 20 mph. It has no throttle.

Which e-bikes are prohibited?

Class II e-bikes with throttles that propel the bike and Class III e-bikes that provide assistance when the rider is pedaling, reaching up to 28 mph.

Which companies rent e-bikes on Mackinac Island?

No business is allowed to rent e-bikes. They risk losing their business license if they do. However, at least one bike company sells e-bikes.

Do I need to have a license for my e-bike on the island?

Yes.

How do visitors get a license for an e-bike?

Ferry companies issue day passes and the police department on the island issues licenses, too. The Mackinac Island Police Department is located at 7374 Market St. Its phone number: 906-847-3300

What happens if someone brings a banned e-bike?

That person risks risk a $110 citation and having the bike impounded. "When we can catch people riding a prohibited kind of bike, we ticket them," Topolski said. "We'll be ticketing them just for having a throttle on their bike as opposed to having to show that they were using the throttle and not pedaling."

What happens if a rider doesn't say they have a mobility disability?

That person risks a $110 citation and having the bike impounded.

Why are e-bikes hard to regulate on Mackinac Island?

• The island is trying to "maintain the atmosphere and cache of the island which has been defined over the years both by tradition and state and local statute to maintain an absence of motorized traffic. The presence of an ever-growing number of e-bikes on the island presents challenges in providing the safe and enjoyable experience that visitors and residents expect," Topolski said. Visitors already have accidents and collisions with regular bikes.

• "It's tough to enforce the tourists who bring their bikes over on the ferry because the ferry operators will license them for the day by just applying a temporary license. We can't compel them to inspect all of the bikes that come over," Topolski said. "So we will be using warning stickers when we see Class II or Class III e-bikes on the street with ferry passes. If they are still around after 18 hours, we may impound them and ticket the users. Like fishing, we never catch them all, but we'll be catching some."

• "Most people who want their throttles will say: "You need to make these other people prove they have a mobility disability like we had to do to get handicap plates for our cars!'" But police are not allowed to do that, according to the Americans With Disabilities Act, Topolski said. "If someone says they have a mobility disability, we are only allowed to ask for credible assurance and the person applying for the e-bike license is allowed to determine what credible assurance is. It's very frustrating but we're trying to be reasonable."

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Chris Shepler, president of Shepler's Ferry, told the Free Press he wants to be supportive in any way when it comes to e-bike training and safety and he looks forward to collaborating with public safety officials so that his staff can do what's needed to help educate tourists and, in turn, protect the island.

Mackinac Island gets hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

Topolski, who worked for the Detroit Police Department and retired from the Dearborn Police Department, was hired as police chief on the island in 2020. His wife is a nurse who works remotely for Henry Ford in Detroit, as well as part-time at the island medical center.

In the summertime, the police department consists of six year-round officers, including Topolski, plus two to four seasonal officers and two Michigan state troopers, Topolski told the Free Press.

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The chief told the Free Press:

• "We do ask the ferry operators to prominently post signage at the points of sale and point of boarding in Mackinac City and St. Ignace that states that e-bikes are only allowed to be used by those with a mobility disability."

• "We want to give tourists a reasonable amount of time to get their bikes off of the street and avoid impounding them when possible as long as we can get the message across. Hopefully, they can be educated to not bring prohibited bikes over the next time and also, hopefully, word will get out."

• "On the other hand, the residents and local contractors know the rules, and some feel that they are being unfairly targeted because some of them have received tickets and they resent having to remove their Class II throttles only to see tourists coming over with Class II bikes with throttles. So we're doing our best to enforce the ordinance fairly and without different standards for residents vs. tourists."

• "We walk a fine line between claims that we're being overzealous and claims that we're not being zealous enough. We're just trying to be reasonable with the understanding that we're a tourist destination and it's likely that a lot of people don't know the rules. Hence, we're starting out with a campaign of education, followed by an enforcement grace period with a lot of warnings being given and then enforcement."

• "I've said it before that either a lot of people are fibbing about the legitimacy of their claimed mobility disabilities or Mackinac Island has proportionately the highest number of mobility-disabled people in the country."

Tim Hygh, executive director of the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, said Friday, "E-bikes are a wonderful alternative for people with a documented mobility disability but those using e-bikes for convenience can create a safety issue and it just doesn't fit Mackinac Island. They're much more dangerous than a pedal bike."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct year the police chief was hired.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mackinac Island police chief: E-bike rules will be enforced