Highland Beach Is Deciding Who the A1A Path Is For, One Contract and One Ordinance at a Time

"You get an electric vehicle on that path and it's downright dangerous," Vice Mayor David Stern told The Coastal Star after the Town Commission's September 1 meeting. He described the path as busy with residents out for a daily stroll, walking a dog, or pushing a stroller, and said it will get more dangerous once season arrives and more people are using it.

His comments came during a fall when the town is settling what its 3-mile path along State Road A1A is for, and it is working on that from two directions. One is a proposed rule that would keep motorized devices off the path. The other is a pair of contracts to resurface the path and light its crosswalks. Both moves serve the same users, and the town is doing this work on its own while the statewide e-bike bill sits vetoed.

What the Commission Agreed To on September 1

Commissioners reached preliminary consensus on a ban covering e-bikes, motorized scooters, and other micromobility devices on the walking path. Riders would be cited through the town's code enforcement process. The draft Town Attorney Len Rubin presented in June reached further, covering sidewalks and multiuse paths across town and naming the path in the A1A right-of-way specifically.

As reported after the September meeting, the proposal carves out a short list of exceptions:

• Wheelchairs, and vehicles operated by a person with a disability
• Law enforcement and public safety vehicles
• Any electric mobility device being walked rather than ridden under power

Violations would be cited under the town's municipal code instead of state law, with a $50 fine. Rubin noted the commission could change that amount. The fine is small on purpose, and Stern was open about what he hopes for. "You don't have to have a citation in order to get safety," he said, adding that he wants the rule to bring voluntary compliance.

The plan also points e-bikes somewhere else. Stern said he hopes riders will use what he called the newly widened bike lanes along A1A, which he considers "a lot safer than having them on the sidewalk." So the proposal leaves e-bikes on A1A and moves them from the path to the bike lane.

None of this is law yet. The Coastal Star reported that the proposal is still in its early stages and probably won't come back to the commission as an ordinance until November. In the meantime, town staff are writing a communication plan so residents and riders know what may be coming.

Why a Three-Mile Path Needed Its Own Rule

Statewide rules came close this summer. Florida's SB 382 passed the Senate 37–0 and the House 112–0, and the Governor vetoed it on June 25, 2026. The Coastal Star reported what the bill would have done. E-bikes would have been limited to 10 miles per hour on sidewalks and pedestrian areas whenever a pedestrian was within 50 feet. Riders would have had to give an audible warning, such as a bell, before passing a pedestrian on a shared-use path. Riders under 16 would have had to wear a helmet. In the same article, the paper noted that any override vote would likely come at the end of the 2027 legislative session.

The town's own draft was already in front of the commission by then, presented June 16, nine days before the veto, and it had run into a separate problem. The path sits in a state right-of-way. In June, Rubin wrote that "the town could not enforce the ordinance or erect any signage warning operators of the prohibition without the approval and consent of FDOT," and the town paused while it asked. By September 1, the staff memo reported that Town Manager Marshall Labadie had spoken with FDOT. Department representatives said they had no objection to towns setting e-bike rules in state rights-of-way, "provided that such regulations do not conflict with any applicable state law." That approval comes with a condition. It lets the town act within limits but does not hand it full control of the right-of-way.

Highland Beach also had a gentler model available. A draft Palm Beach County ordinance would require riders to operate "with due care and prudence." It would ban riding on sidewalks and shared-use paths only in designated commercial or high-pedestrian areas and would allow reduced-speed or restricted zones. Rubin's memo listed the county draft's other provisions as well: helmets for riders and passengers under 16, no riding of devices capable of more than 20 mph by anyone under 16, and ID requirements. The town's version is simpler. It bans motorized devices outright, with no speed tiers and no age rules. Other towns in the county have gone the same way, and The Coastal Star named Jupiter and Wellington among the municipalities that have banned e-bikes on sidewalks.

The Pavement Is Being Rebuilt for the Same Users

While the rule was being drafted, the town signed contracts for the path itself. The October 2026 Manager's Monthly describes repaving "the shared-use pathway throughout Town and installation of embedded lighting systems at each of our eight crosswalks." It credits a state appropriation secured with Representative Peggy Gossett-Seidman for offsetting the cost. The town's FY2026 strategic priorities sheet puts that appropriation at $375,000, awarded in full as of July 1, 2026, for crosswalk lighting plus "repaving and regrading the shared pathway."

The two contracts together total $547,180.80, so the $375,000 appropriation covers a little more than two-thirds of the work. The lighting costs more than the repaving and takes six times as long to finish. Once a start order is issued, the resurfacing is a one-month job. The lighting has a six-month window and still needs FDOT's acceptance, which follows from where the lights sit, in crosswalks on a state road.

The strategic priorities sheet refers to 13 crosswalks. The Lux Solar contract and the October Manager's Monthly both say eight, and those are the later, more specific documents. The town's own count is eight, and the contract sets the scope.

What Is Still Unsettled This Winter

The plan is clear, but the timing isn't. Here is what is open as of mid-October:

1. The start date for path work. The priorities sheet expected construction to begin in August. The October Manager's Monthly says only that the project is "moving forward," and none of the town documents reviewed show a notice to proceed, a phasing plan, or any closure or detour notice.
2. The ordinance itself. Commissioners reached consensus on September 1, but no reading date has been posted. November is the reported estimate, not a scheduled meeting.
3. The fine and the final wording. The $50 figure and the list of exceptions could still change before adoption.
4. The statewide picture. A legislative override of the SB 382 veto would most likely come at the end of the 2027 session, and a new state law could affect how much room local rules have under FDOT's "no conflict with state law" condition.

The order of events matters for anyone on the path day to day. The resurfacing is a 30-day job once it starts. The crosswalk lights could take up to six months after their start order. The ordinance may come up in November, and season brings more people onto the path in the meantime. That means a newly paved path could open before the e-bike rule is in force, and the lit crosswalks could be the last of the three pieces to finish. Until the commission adopts an ordinance, the September consensus is a direction and not an enforceable rule. Anyone who rides a motorized device on the path should check the final ordinance text once it is posted.

This post is general information about a proposed municipal rule. It isn't legal advice, so please confirm how any adopted ordinance applies to you with the Town of Highland Beach or a qualified attorney.

If you live on this stretch of A1A, or you're thinking about a building where the path runs past the front entrance, I'm glad to talk through how these changes look from the ground and what to watch as the November agenda comes together. Reach out to Kirsten Smith anytime. Let's Connect.