CARLSBAD, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — The City of Carlsbad is asking for the public’s input as they discuss limiting e-bikes to only riders 12 years of age and older.
The city said ahead of the Traffic Safety and Mobility Commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, they received more than 500 comments, a majority in favor of implementing the age limit.
“We’ve seen an exponential growth in e bikes starting in about 2019-2020,” Nathan Schmidt, Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager for the City of Carlsbad said in an interview Tuesday morning.
“We’ve heard from both sides we’ve heard that there are dire concerns in regards to safety and we’ve also heard from some residents that they would like everyone to ride, it allows kids to get to school, it allows kids to travel with their parents,” Schmidt said.
In 2023, data shows there were 59 e-bike crashes within the City of Carlsbad.
Carlsbad is in the early stages of discussion, they are asking for the community’s feedback at the meetings.
If approved, the law would require that e-bike riders be over the age of 12. The law would be enforced by the police department, who could cite riders. If this passes, the city would have a 30-day educational approach, then 60 days of warnings before enforcement would begin.
The citation could be waived if the rider takes an educational course. Violations for repeat offenders would be up to the police department.
“It is a really powerful machines some of them go 50 mph, it’s insane,” Sai Man said, as he was riding his e-bike around Carlsbad Village. “There’s a lot of mixed feelings, but then again we have a lot of really responsible children who just want to ride their bike to school.”
“I think they’re a really great mode of transportation for young kids,” Lenae Shin, a Carlsbad resident said. “You have a lot of freedom with the e bike that you don’t have usually but I do think that some kids don’t know the rules of the road.”
The City of Carlsbad already has rule in place for e-bike riders, including riders must wear a helmet if they are under 18 years old, must follow the rules of the road and not ride on the sidewalk.
This discussion comes three years after a deadly e-bike and vehicle crash claimed the life of Carlsbad mom Christine Hawk Embree, who was riding an e-bike with her 16-month-old buckled in, home from the park, when a vehicle hit and killed her.
“It hit our community very hard and the city took that very seriously, in response to that the city enacted the safer streets together program which was a combination of education, enforcement and engineering,” Schmidt said.
That tragedy prompted safety measures, including green bike lanes in the city. “They’re really to alert drivers to the presence of cyclists on our streets,” Schmidt said.
The commission will then forward the feedback to city council, who will decide whether or not to add the item to the agenda for a vote.
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