The Schenectady City Council is developing legislation to regulate e-bikes and scooters after discussing the issue with a police Lt. Michael Dalton at a committee meeting Monday.
The discussion comes weeks after police made eight arrests, gave out 47 traffic tickets and seized 31 bikes and other personal transportation devices in a traffic enforcement crackdown.
"The problems that we're seeing really have to do with riding on the sidewalk, disobeying traffic control devices, riding on the wrong side of the road; they're often riding into the side of moving vehicles," Dalton said of e-bikes. "They're hitting pedestrians. They're getting in crashes on curbs, and people are sustaining serious physical injuries, head injuries."
Council members discussed road infrastructure, helmet requirements, bike modifications, police pursuit procedures and other potential regulations on Monday.
Council President Carl Williams said e-bikes and scooters are affordable and efficient — but he'd like to give the city police more power to regulate their use on the road.
"An unenforceable law is a suggestion, and I think that we're at a point right now where safety is at an all-time concern for residents," Williams said after the meeting. "Whether you're a pedestrian or a vehicle on the road, it's important to ensure that we are taking the steps necessary to ensure that we're promoting kind of these essential barriers or guidelines."
E-bike injuries increased from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, according to a Harvard University Health Publishing. E-scooter injuries increased by more than 45% each year during the same period, reaching a total of 56,847 in 2022.
