JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Some parents in Jacksonville’s Mandarin neighborhood believe they’re seeing more groups of kids recklessly riding mini bikes around the neighborhood, reporting both close calls with drivers and disruptions to local businesses.
They’ve shared some recent TikTok videos with Action News Jax that show kids on motorized bikes doing “wheelies,” where the rider lifts their front wheel off the ground while moving and swerving through traffic, both on busy roads and in busy shopping centers.
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Some parents, like Sheena Chin, tell us they’ve seen these behaviors for more than a year and are becoming concerned.
It started smaller, and it’s just growing and growing,” said Chin, “it’s not safe. As a parent, I’m just concerned. I don’t want them getting in trouble and causing any problems around the neighborhood.”
Chin said she has seen groups of kids on bikes falling or performing tricks while riding in crosswalks or in oncoming lanes of traffic on streets like Old St. Augustine Road. She believes they are driving dangerously and disrupting traffic.
“I just want to make sure that they don’t get hit by a vehicle and we don’t have a bigger issue on our hands,” Chin said.
Parents aren’t the only ones who have shared concerns. Action News Jax spoke with the Burlington store on Old St. Augustine Road and were told that kids have been bringing bikes inside the store and disrupting shoppers for more than a month. The store called it a “massive problem.”
Jacksonville city council member Michael Boylan, who represents the Mandarin area, is now wanting to look at creating new citywide bike riding restrictions, partly as a response to these concerns. Particularly, Boylan said he is looking into limiting the size of motors on gas and electric-powered bikes, along with creating requirements for riders to wear helmets and complete training before getting on the road.
“It is a concern that we need to continue to raise with everyone out there,” said Boylan.
Florida laws currently require motorized bike riders to always remain as far to the right side of the road as possible, unless changing lanes to pass traffic. The state does not currently have any laws on the books requiring e-bike riders to either be a certain age or wear a helmet.
Boylan told Action News Jax he wants to pass local bike restrictions within the next month, but believes parents need to be held accountable for the behavior of their kids on the roads.
“We can legislate all we want, but really, it’s going to be up to the families to make sure that they monitor the use of these bikes,” Boylan said.
Action News Jax reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to ask if it has recently started doing more to enforce state and local bike laws, but we are still waiting for a response at this time.
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