E-Bike complaints return to City Council

Problems with out-of-control e-bikes and scooters are again prompting complaints from city residents to the City Council.

Beginning in the council's Public Safety Committee meeting, three different city residents brought the problem up before the committee.

"I've had at least four or five close calls of almost hitting someone on their e-bike or e-scooter," city resident Doug Champ said. "Young people, old people, you name it. I'm getting tired of it, and others have complained as well."

Champ shared the New York State e-bike and e-scooter safety laws with the committee, which include the different classes of e-bikes, speed limits, e-scooter classifications and speed limits, label requirements, bike and scooter operations must follow the same rules that apply to drivers and other bicycles, operators must be at least 16 years old, helmet requirements, which were noted to potentially change with local laws, and more such as operations on sidewalks, roadways, and that they may not carry passengers. He also noted that not all devices sold as e-bikes or e-scooters are actually legally classified as that, especially if they go faster than a normal device would.

Champ asked what the city is doing to stop the violations happening with e-bikes and scooters in the city, saying that soon it will be getting darker earlier and bikes need to be lit, noting that he has not seen any e-bikes or scooters with lights. He also suggested getting e-bikes for the Jamestown Police Department to help them be able to get after improper e-bike users easier, noting that e-bikes are used for drug transportation as well.

Police Chief Scott Forster said that the police department follows the state law when it comes to e-bikes, and that they have talked numerous times about getting e-bikes for the department.

"The issue we run into is we have to be bike certified to ride bikes on bike patrol," Forster said. "We no longer have a bike instructor for that, so we're working on getting an instructor for a course that can then train our officers to ride bikes. Personally, if we have the instructor to do that and the certified bike operators to do that, that is something we can definitely look into."

Registering e-bikes was also suggested, as the city charter requires regular bicycles to be registered. Councilman Jeremy Engquist, D-At Large and chair of the Public Safety Committee, said e-bikes are a big problem in the city, and that he has noticed them ticking up recently.

"I'm with you on this," Engquist said. "We may be long past when we need to sit down with the chief and come up with a comprehensive plan for the city. Somebody is going to die."

Champ added that he is in full support of the police department and that he knows they are trying to do something, saying that he is willing to help come up with some sort of ordinance to help them be able to go after the problem better.

Another city resident, Paul Wolff, also came before the council to address the e-bike issue, giving an example of e-bike operators threatening drivers and riding illegally up and down the road. Wolff said everyone learns in school or at some point about hand signals to use when riding bikes, which follow state laws, and these riders are also not doing that. He added he was hit on the sidewalk by a bicycle as well, and that the city's laws are not being a deterrent.

Forster said something night patrol focuses on is watching out for bikes without lights and enforcing that. Wolff noted that sometimes from the outside it seems that these laws are not getting enforced, giving an example of an officer that sits in a specific city parking lot as e-bikes go by illegally. Forster said he understands that from the outside it may look like nothing is being done, but that that officer could be doing many different things.

Helmet requirements were also discussed, and it was noted that they are required for both bikes and e-bikes for at least 16 and 17 year olds. Wolff also suggested something like a licensing program to help educate kids.

Raven Corvus also brought up the e-bike situation, including a situation where she came upon one being operated illegally earlier that day.

"They just disregard all the laws," Corvus said. "I know they're not supposed to be on the sidewalk, but I do see them on the sidewalk sometimes too. It's becoming a problem."

Corvus also questioned if they were allowed to wear full face masks, even in 90 degree weather, noting it as suspicious. Forster said while that is suspicious, it is not illegal. Corvus added that no one wears helmets either.

Forster said last year the police department had a lot of helmets that they did a giveaway with for kids, and got more helmets after that. He said they do have more helmets and can get them for people who need them. Corvus said she does not see advertisements around about that, but that maybe something like that gets advertised at school. If someone is in need of a helmet they can call the police department.

The fire department also noted a potential fire hazard when it comes to charging these e-bikes, specifically with the lithium batteries not being charged correctly.

A question on enforcement of e-bikes in the city was brought up at the council work session following committee meetings, specifically if these rules could be enforced.

"We can enforce it, it's just a matter of how much we can enforce it," Forster said. "We do enforce it right now on both e-bikes, e-scooters, regular bikes, everything, it's just a matter of how much it can be enforced, and that's all dependent on how many calls and what the officers are doing at the time. Honestly, so much of it is catching them while it's happening."

Forster said he sees riders going very fast from one place to another, and then they are done and it is in that time frame where they need to be caught, something that could also be helped by potentially getting e-bikes for the police department. When the department gets an instructor, he said that is a real possibility.

Mayor Kim Ecklund also briefly discussed the growing e-bikes issue, saying that state laws and the city charter are being reviewed.

"It is in process, we're just trying to figure out what works best before it comes before you," Ecklund said. "I don't want you to think it's something the administration is ignoring, it's not. It's just more complicated than we think."