As e-bikes continue popping up across Clermont’s trails and downtown streets, the city is rolling out a new way to keep pace with them, literally.

The Clermont Police Department has officially added its first police e-bike to patrol the South Lake Trail, downtown Clermont and the waterfront area, giving officers the ability to catch up to riders who are speeding, riding recklessly or operating vehicles that are not actually legal on the trail system.

City leaders say the goal is not to crack down on e-bikes themselves, but to make sure the growing number of riders can safely coexist with pedestrians, runners and traditional bicyclists.

“This is a big priority,” says Deputy City Manager Dan Matthys during a demonstration Tuesday. “Our goal is to become the safest city in Florida. Part of that is having a safe way to get around town, not just with automobiles.”

The initiative comes after the Clermont City Council approved the purchase of the department’s e-bikes using forfeiture funds rather than taxpayer dollars. A second police e-bike is expected to arrive by summer.

Until now, enforcement on the trail has been difficult.

Officers on foot could clock riders traveling well above the 15 mph speed limit on the trail, but many simply sped away before officers could stop them. During Tuesday’s demonstration, officers showed how one officer can now monitor speeds while another officer on the police e-bike quickly catches up to the rider to make a stop.

The police e-bikes are equipped with lights similar to patrol vehicles, but on a smaller scale and a loud horn in lieu of a siren.

Police Chief John Crazcyk said the department has already seen an increase in unsafe riding behaviors, especially involving minors weaving through downtown traffic, performing wheelies or riding without helmets.

“It’s not out of control but it’s becoming an issue,” Grazcyk says. “So the sooner we can address the issue, the better outcomes.”

“This will be one of our main focuses in this area here.”

Under Florida law taking effect July 1, riders passing pedestrians on trails and walkways must give an audible warning and slow to 10 mph while passing. Clermont’s trail speed limit remains 15 mph.

Grazcyk said officers also want to educate riders about basic roadway laws many do not realize apply to bicycles and e-bikes.

“When you’re out on the roadways, if you’re riding your bicycle on the roadway, you’re considered a motor vehicle,” he says. “So stop at the stop signs, obey all the traffic laws.”

He added that riders 16 years old and younger should wear helmets.

The department’s officers will patrol areas stretching from East Avenue to Hiawatha Preserve, including downtown and Waterfront Park. Initially, officers from the department’s community services division, known to many residents as the COPS unit, will operate the bikes.

Grazcyk said the e-bikes also help officers build stronger connections with the community.

“A lot of people want to talk to the bike cops,” he says. “That allows them a chance to go through downtown, meet more business owners, interact with the juveniles and with everybody who’s out on the trail. So a win-win for everybody.”

Officer Wilfredo Diaz, who will be among the first officers patrolling on the e-bike, said many encounters so far have focused more on education than punishment.

“Some people just don’t know,” Diaz says.

He recently stopped a juvenile riding what appeared to be an e-bike but was actually an electric motorcycle, which is not permitted on the trail.

“If it has pedals, if it has everything else that a normal bicycle has, but it also has a motor, it’s considered an e-bike,” he says. “Now, when you get into bikes that don’t have pedals, that don’t have any type of assist whatsoever, it’s just throttles … all of those are electric motorcycles.”

Those vehicles require registration and licensing and are not allowed on the South Lake Trail.

Local business owner Debra Hodge of EGO Bikes partnered with the department to help select the type of bikes officers would use. She said e-bikes have become increasingly popular because they make cycling accessible to more people.

“They are the equalizer,” Debra says. “We just have to get behind it. The community, as a whole, needs to work together and say, ‘What makes sense? Let’s be safe.’”

For longtime trail user and retired police officer Jack Kruse who in the past served on the traditional bicycle task force, the increased enforcement presence has already made a noticeable difference.

“I am here on the trail every day and I’ve seen the proliferation of e-bikes and e-vehicles in general just get pretty much out of control,” Jack says. “But I’ll tell you, in the past three weeks or so, since Clermont PD has been down here and has had a presence, it’s been a huge difference.”

Photos by Roxanne Brown