A state law implementing a new speed limit on vehicle-free Mackinac Island has yet to be used, but police say other factors have led to citations for cyclists at Michigan’s summer tourism hotspot.
In July 2024, a new state law took effect on Mackinac Island setting the speed limit at 15 miles per hour on the roughly 8.2-mile state highway circling the island and 10 mph in the downtown business district.
Mackinac Island Police Chief Dwayne Miedzianowski said his office has yet to issue a ticket for violating the new speed limit, in part because the department lacks the ability to clock bicycle speeds.
But, Miedzianowski said, the island’s police officers have and will continue to give out tickets for careless or reckless cycling, including when individuals are weaving between horse-drawn carriages at high speeds. In 2025 alone, police gave out four citations for careless or reckless cycling, the police chief said.
“If they seem to be going fast and weaving in and out of people, where we feel there’s a safety concern, we would stop them,” Miedzianowski said. “You will see us do proactive, what we call, stationary patrols. …A lot of it, is visibility as a deterrent.”
The speed limit was put in place in July 2024 when the growing use of electric bikes on the island was creating dangerous situations, said state Sen. John Damoose, a Harbor Springs Republican who sponsored the legislation.
At that point, the island’s leaders noted M-185, the state highway circling the island, had a default speed limit of 55 mph, even though it is the only state highway to ban motor vehicles. The default speed limit, which needed state lawmaker approval to change, made it difficult for police to enforce safe speeds, officials said.
“They were just looking for anything,” Damoose said of Mackinac Island leaders seeking a speed limit lower than 55 mph. “It was an ongoing problem as people started using electric bikes.”
In 2024, police responded to nine serious bicycle crashes involving personal injuries and, in 2025, there were seven, Miedzianowski said.
E-bike use is banned on the island unless an individual has a documented mobility issue. Among those with mobility issues, e-bike usage is limited to Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes, which can reach up to 20 mph.
Since the speed limit went into place, Miedzianowski said, law enforcement officers have prioritized warnings for individuals going at speeds that appear to be faster than the speed limit. To issue citations, the department instead uses part of the city ordinance related to careless or reckless biking, which can include high speeds.
The island’s police have also issued one ticket in the past two years for a violation of the island’s snowmobile speed limit. In December 2024, a man driving a nearly 40-year-old snowmobile was ticketed for driving 35 mph in a 20-mile-per-hour zone.
Damoose noted the speed limit was not meant to result in a proliferation of citations, but to serve as a warning to tourists to slow down.
“I think they don’t want to give out a bunch of tickets,” Damoose said. “They want everyone to have a good time there. It’s just that it can be dangerous.
“My son, every time we pass the speed limit sign, he says, ‘Thanks, Dad,’” he added with a laugh.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Why Mackinac Island’s new speed limit law has yet to be enforced
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
