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Some electric bicycles - also known as e-bikes - can exceed speeds of 30 miles per hour.
On Wednesday, the Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission unanimously approved to recommend the Warsaw Common Council pass an e-bike ordinance that regulates their use, as presented by City Planner Justin Taylor.
The ordinance went before the Traffic Safety Commission as a recommendation from the Ride+Walk Advisory Committee. The committee currently consists of 30 members representing the city and county and meet each month to go over bike and pedestrian issues in the community, Taylor said.
On the e-bike ordinance, Taylor said, “The intent here is to be permissive and allow multimobility micromobility devices in the city, but also help regulate their use. So, we have e-bikes that are coming to market now that can get in excess of 50 miles an hour. A lot of parents are buying these for their kids, not realizing how fast they can actually go, and that’s just stock, that’s without modifying them in any way.”
He said they recognized the need to get something in place to help keep people safe on the roads and sidewalks, without being prohibitive because “we do want to encourage active transportation in different modes of transportation, as well, throughout the community.”
The ordinance is an effort to do just that, Taylor stated.
“In addition to the ordinance, where it regulates based on speed, not necessarily type of vehicle because there’s different classifications and they’re very hard to recognize the distinction between those just by looking at them, but we’re able to enforce by speed and issue citations for excessive speed or dangerous behavior, based on the language in this ordinance currently,” Taylor explained.
He reiterated the ordinance was recommended by the Ride+Walk Advisory Committee and he was looking for a recommendation from the Traffic Safety Commission so it can be sent on to the Common Council for their review and approval.
Traffic Administrator Lance Grubbs asked Taylor to highlight important parts of the ordinance that the commission may want to discuss.
Taylor said a lot of the requirements are based on state laws, but the ordinance will help enforce those locally.
The ordinance requires e-bikes to have lighting. If an officer sees someone going down the road with improper lighting, the officer can make contact with that person and inform them of the ordinance requirements.
The C-4 (Commercial 4) Business District is downtown Warsaw. Taylor said the ordinance took language from the city’s current bicycle ordinance, which only applied to bicycles, and applies it now to e-bikes and other micromobility devices “where they would not be permitted to drive them on sidewalks in the C-4 District downtown.” He said the reasoning is because of concerns for pedestrians and businesses.
“We did carve out exceptions for any trails that cut through downtown, but we want to discourage people from riding bikes on the sidewalks in downtown and these e-bikes,” Taylor said.
The ordinance also puts speed limits in place. It states for streets, the maximum speed for micromobility devices “shall be” the posted speed limit, but not greater than 35 mph, unless otherwise authorized by state law. For multi-use trails, the maximum speed is 15 mph, unless otherwise posted. The maximum speed for sidewalks is 10 mph. In pedestrian areas, the ordinance states “operators shall reduce speed to a safe and reasonable level when approaching intersections, crosswalks or high pedestrian activity areas.”
The ordinance also states e-bikes that meet the requirements of federal and state law are permitted wherever bicycles are allowed. Class 3 e-bikes may not be operated by anyone under 15 years old. E-bikes must bear a manufacturer classification label as required by state law.
E-Moto devices are treated as motor-driven cycles under Indiana law and must comply with equipment and licensing requirements and all applicable registration and insurance requirements. E-Moto devices are prohibited on sidewalks, multi-use trails and greenways.
Operators under 16 operating a micromobility device or e-bike must wear a properly fitted helmet. Operators can’t operate a device while using a handheld electronic device, except in hands-free mode. Devices may carry only the number of persons for which they are designed and equipped.
The ordinance also states a bicycle, micromobility devices and e-bikes operated on a road from a half hour before sunset until a half hour after sunrise must be equipped with a lamp on the front exhibiting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front, and a lamp on the rear exhibiting a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear or a red reflector visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear.
Taylor said fines are $25 for first offense, $50 for second offense within 365 days and $150 for third or subsequent offense within 365 days.
Grubbs asked if the e-bikes would take up a parking space. Taylor said no, and the intent is for them to use the bike racks.
After some general questions, Warsaw Police Department Capt. Joel Beam made a motion to give a favorable recommendation on the ordinance to the Warsaw Common Council. WPD Capt. Brad Kellar seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
The next Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 3 at the WPD Training Center.
