Toula Kourtides runs Toula's Trailside Café in downtown Tarpon Springs, where customers sit at sidewalk tables a few feet from foot traffic. She's had a close call. In an account published by EV Shift, she said of an e-bike rider: "I almost hit one the other day," and added, "They jumped right in front of me."
On August 25, city commissioners voted unanimously to advance an ordinance restricting where bicycles, e-bikes and motorized scooters can be ridden. Signs are going up around downtown this fall, and if you've seen the headlines, you might think Tarpon Springs just banned e-bikes from its sidewalks. It didn't. The permanent zones cover three specific stretches of the city, though temporary high pedestrian activity zones can extend the walk-only rules beyond those stretches.
Where the Rule Actually Applies
The ordinance names three zones: East Tarpon Avenue between Pinellas Avenue and Ring Street, Dodecanese Boulevard between Pinellas Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, and the interior paths of Craig Park. That's it. Those three stretches happen to be the heart of downtown, the Sponge Docks, and the city's most-used waterfront park, which is exactly why Assistant Police Chief Taurean Mathis told commissioners the city started there. Foot traffic in those spots already puts riders and pedestrians in close quarters, and Craig Park has the same problem on its narrower paths around Spring Bayou.
The rule doesn't ban bringing a bike or scooter into those areas. It requires you to walk it. Riding is prohibited inside the boundaries; pushing your bike alongside you is fine, and so is riding it right up to the edge of the zone before you dismount.
What Changes, and What Doesn't
Outside those three permanent zones, general riding remains unchanged unless the city designates a temporary high pedestrian activity zone. The ordinance covers bicycles, e-bikes, motorized scooters and similar micromobility devices, not just electric ones, but only inside the marked zones. Electric wheelchairs and other medically necessary devices are exempt everywhere the ordinance applies.
Enforcement is being phased in deliberately slowly. Mathis was direct about the sequence in comments reported by Yahoo News: "The first part of enforcement is education. You find somebody doing something wrong, you educate them, give them warnings, and let them know." Signs and outreach come first. Citations come later, once the city is confident riders have actually seen the new boundaries.
When citations do start, the penalty schedule reported by EV Shift is tiered and non-criminal. A first violation brings a warning or a fine of up to $50. A second violation within twelve months runs $100. A third violation in that same twelve-month window is $250. In that report, Commissioner Michael Eisner pointed to what's driving the concern in the first place, describing young riders he'd personally seen moving at 20 to 22 miles per hour on scooters through areas where pedestrians are shopping and dining. Resident Loretta LaVarco described a similar scene from the sidewalk side in comments reported by Yahoo News: "You've got these little kids on these e-bikes that are just zooming by. And you know, it's just dangerous." She's had to step out of the way herself.
What the Ordinance Leaves Open
One question remains beyond the ordinance's three zones. At the same meeting where commissioners advanced the ordinance, resident Jane Harrington told them, in remarks reported by EV Shift, that the three named zones address only the most visible part of a problem that exists on ordinary streets across the city. "Many, many people walk on the regular streets and the regular sidewalks," she said. "They're dangerous, and now with school back in, it is even worse." She supported the downtown and Craig Park restrictions but pushed commissioners to say when, if ever, the rule might reach further.
Nobody on the commission promised it would soon. Mayor John Koulianos called the ordinance intentionally narrow, and he wasn't shy about explaining why. Tarpon Springs isn't trying to write a comprehensive e-bike code on its own. It's waiting to see what Pinellas County does first.
Why the City Is Waiting on the County
That wait has a specific cause. Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed Senate Bill 382 in June, a bill that would have set statewide rules for e-bikes and scooters after passing both legislative chambers. With no state framework coming, individual Pinellas cities are left to write their own rules, and Koulianos would rather not have Tarpon Springs's rules clash with the county's once it finalizes its own. His reasoning ties back to geography as much as policy: the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail and roads like the one through Howard Park are county thoroughfares running straight through the city, and a resident biking in from the trail shouldn't hit a patchwork of conflicting local ordinances at the city line. As reported by EV Shift, he said, "It would be helpful to have consistency."
Tarpon Springs isn't the only Pinellas city working through this. Clearwater already has an ordinance on the books restricting e-bikes and other motorized devices on Beach Walk, Crest Lake Park and Coachman Park. Gulfport has started its own conversation after complaints about e-bikes in its parks and busy areas. Tarpon Springs is simply the latest, and by design, the narrowest so far. County officials are reportedly weighing options that go further than any single city has, including a minimum rider age and photo ID requirements, though nothing at that level has been adopted.
The city built in one more layer of flexibility for itself. Commissioners can designate temporary "high pedestrian activity zones" during events like First Friday and Hippie Fest, extending walk-only rules beyond the three permanent zones for the duration of a specific event. That gives the city room to manage crowds during its busiest nights without rewriting the ordinance every time.
Craig Park Isn't Just a Detour Zone
It's worth remembering what Craig Park actually is to the people who use it daily, since it's easy to read "restricted zone" and picture a construction site. The park wraps around Spring Bayou and includes a saltwater boat launch, two lighted tennis courts, six shuffleboard courts, a bandshell, a playground, and a paved walkway that draws a steady stream of walkers, not just cyclists passing through. Manatees show up in the bayou regularly, especially in the cooler months, and the benches lining the walkway exist because people stop to watch for them. The dismount rule there isn't about clearing cyclists out of the park. It's about keeping the same narrow paths that manatee-watchers and shuffleboard players use free of anyone moving through at 20 miles an hour.
The First Real Test Comes in November
The clearest place to watch how this plays out is the Tarpon Springs Seafood Festival, set for November 7 and 8 at the Sponge Docks along Dodecanese Boulevard and Hill Street. That's the exact stretch covered by the new ordinance, during the exact kind of dense, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd the rule was written for. If the city designates it a temporary high pedestrian activity zone, as the ordinance allows for events like First Friday and Hippie Fest, it'll be the first big public test of whether education and signage are enough or whether enforcement has to catch up faster than planned.
Eddie Mullally, who owns Neptune Cycling and both sells and rents e-bikes downtown, has backed the restrictions despite being in the business of putting more of them on the street. That's a useful signal. The rule isn't aimed at e-bikes existing in Tarpon Springs. It's aimed at where they move at speed relative to people who aren't on wheels at all.
If you live near Dodecanese Boulevard, East Tarpon Avenue, or Craig Park, the practical change this fall is small: walk your bike through those three stretches, expect signage explaining where the lines are, and don't expect a ticket on day one. If you live anywhere else in the city, the permanent restrictions don't apply to your street, though a temporary high pedestrian activity zone could; Jane Harrington's question about broader permanent rules remains open.
If you're settling into a new stretch of Tarpon Springs and want more of this kind of on-the-ground context as it develops, Jenny Sells The Block Tampa keeps an eye on what's actually changing in this city, block by block.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
