Quick Take
Santa Cruz transportation commissioners say education, not new local laws, is the best way to boost e-bike safety — urging state-level rules while police crack down on illegal high-speed models.
E-bikes are here to stay, and existing rules are enough for now, according to a City of Santa Cruz transportation board tasked with exploring ways to enhance safety on the battery-powered bicycles.
Instead of supporting speed limits or seeking new age restrictions on the vehicles, the city’s Transportation and Public Works Commission said the most effective way for the city to temper hazards is to support e-bike safety education programs in local schools. As far as enforcement, commissioners rejected any effort to tailor new rules specific to the city of Santa Cruz. The commissioners agreed that police should continue to go after zippy, street-illegal e-bikes, and that if city lawmakers want to see new rules on age, speed or license requirements, they should lobby legislators for new statewide regulations.
“Rules that just apply to our city wouldn’t make sense to me,” Commissioner Ron Goodman said during Monday night’s meeting, reflecting the general opinion of the commission.
Earlier this year, the Santa Cruz City Council, after fielding a steady stream of complaints around the hazards presented by e-bikes to pedestrians, drivers and cyclists, asked the transportation commission to look into ways the city could increase e-bike safety.
However, the commission and city transportation staff were largely uninterested in pursuing additional rules.
“These changes should not be bespoke, and should not be unique to Santa Cruz,” Chair Ryan Meckel said. “We should be encouraging our state legislators to pass legislation.”
Lawmakers in Capitola were similarly hesitant to implement their own laws earlier this year, choosing instead to urge state legislators to pass specific age restrictions and a requirement that riders under the age of 16 take a written test before being allowed to ride.
Claire Gallogly, the City of Santa Cruz’s transportation planner, started and ended her presentation with support for e-bikes overall, saying the city was “committed to mode shift,” as in a cultural shift from relying on cars to preferring to travel by foot, bike or public transit. E-bikes, she said, “are not bad,” and have helped accelerate the transition away from car trips.
Staff and commissioners did acknowledge that the increasing ubiquity of e-bikes has led to more people, mostly teenagers, riding street-illegal battery-powered bikes, some of which can go up to 50 mph.
Santa Cruz Police Lt. Wesley Morey told the commission Monday that the police department has recently taken a “zero tolerance” policy on what he called “e-motorcycles.” Over the past month, cops have impounded roughly 12 of these vehicles, all of which were driven by middle and high schoolers. Parents who come to retrieve the bikes are then cited for allowing their children to ride street-illegal vehicles.
Morey said those bikes will never be street-legal because they don’t have turning signals, horns or any of the features required by law. He said the police department has found that the manufacturers of these bikes are upfront that their bikes are not allowed on public streets.
“Word is starting to get around,” Morey said.
The city council is set to revisit e-bike regulations in November.
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