Disability rights advocates ask Mackinac Island to allow Class 2 e-bikes

• Mackinac Island’s no-motor tradition dates back to 1898 and is a part of the island’s old-fashioned charm
• But that no-motor ban extends to throttle-assisted e-bikes, which some people with disabilities need to enjoy the island’s iconic bike trails
• After being prohibited to ride her Class 2 e-bike, Beth Hudson is asking the island to drop its e-bike ban 

The only things that rival the popularity of bikes on Mackinac Island are horses and fudge. 

M-185 stretches around the island, hugging the coast with a clear view of Lake Huron’s crystal blue waters. The 8.2 miles is the perfect bike trail because it boasts a unique feature: It’s the only interstate in the country with no motorized vehicles.

And that includes e-bikes that riders can operate without pedaling by engaging a throttle. 

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To preserve the no-motor tradition, Mackinac Island placed a ban on throttle assisted e-bikes, but they’re now facing backlash from e-bike users who say the ban discriminates against people with disabilities who can’t partake in the iconic bike trails.

University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Initiative is asking Mackinac Island to lift the ban on Class 2, throttle-assisted e-bikes — 11 years after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won a case that opened the way for Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes on the island.  

The U-M group has taken up the case of e-bike user Beth Hudson, who is a left below-knee amputee and an avid cyclist. She’s able to enjoy the healthy pastime by using an electric tricycle that has a throttle to help her right-leg pedal, especially up hills. 

Hearing that Mackinac Island is a “biking mecca,” Hudson and her husband traveled from New Hampshire with her trike in tow. 

But once on the island, she was denied a cycling license.  

“What do I do?” she asked other cyclists with disabilities. “I’ve never come across this, and I’ve biked all over the country.”

After talking to the tourist bureau, the police and the town lawyer with her letter of medical necessity in hand, Hudson says, she was repeatedly dismissed. 

“So I never got to ride there,” she said. 

Hudson’s experience at Mackinac Island spurred her to take action.

“I understand they want to keep the culture,” said Hudson, “But in my opinion, I was denied a civil right.”

According to Hudson’s attorney, David Seaman, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission did discuss the request in a closed session on July 24. 

But “there is no reason to reconsider" the ban, commission director Steven Brisson told Bridge.

Mackinac’s no-motor tradition

Hudson’s action comes on the tail of Michigan state parks proposing extending state park trail access to e-bikes. 

That proposal follows similar moves by other states, like Arkansas and North Carolina, both of which have active mountain biking communities and claim e-bikes are no more dangerous than regular bikes and don’t damage trails. 

But with Mackinac’s long-standing tradition of being a no-motor island, e-bikes threaten that culture. 

“Motorized vehicles were banned on Mackinac Island in 1898 … it’s part of our cherished tradition,” said Brisson, Mackinac State Historic Parks director. 

He said the reason throttle-assisted e-bikes are banned is simple: “Class 2 (e-bikes) are motorized vehicles.” 

How does Mackinac accommodate people with disabilities?

In 2003, Frank Bertrand, who had multiple sclerosis, filed a lawsuit with the help of the ACLU when he was prohibited from riding his e-bike on the island.

A state appeals court ruled that the city violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Mackinac Island opened the island to Class 1 e-bikes, which are bikes with motor assist up to 20 miles per hour when pedaling, for people with disabilities.

All other e-bikes are considered ‘motor vehicles’ by the island.   

That excludes e-bikes like the one used by Hudson, who requires throttle-assist to bike. 

“They’ve just decided that every disability is the same,” said Hudson. She compared it to an eye doctor giving all their patients the same prescription. “If I could (use a Class 1), I would.”

Hudson and her team of attorneys — led by law students David Seaman and Alexander Votta working under former American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan Director Michael Steinberg — are asking Mackinac Island to extend the accommodations they’ve made to Class 1 e-bikes to Class 2. 

“The bottom line in (Bertrand v. City of Mackinac) and here is that a person with a disability has the right to enjoy the same amenities, like cycling on the island, as people without disabilities,” said Seaman.

Brisson said the island accommodates people with disabilities by allowing assistive devices, like scooters and motorized wheelchairs. 

But “e-bikes are not an assistive device,” he said. 

Seaman said those accommodations aren’t enough.

“It’s not about being able to get around generally, but it’s about the joys of cycling,” he said.

Hudson and Seaman are waiting to hear back from the city and Mackinac State Parks, which is in charge of most of the island’s bike trails, about their request. 

If the island is not willing to change their e-bike policy, they said they’re prepared to file a lawsuit. 

But Seaman said they’re confident they can settle the request without going to court. And ensure that Hudson and other people with disabilities can ride their e-bikes on the island’s iconic trail.