Why this matters
A 2024 federal Consumer Product Safety Commission report showed that micromobility vehicle injuries across the U.S. increased 158% between 2017 to 2023. Children under 14 accounted for more than one-third of these injuries, the report said.
The Chula Vista City Council on Tuesday night held off on officially banning children under 12 from riding e-bikes and similar vehicles after the council revised language to correct an error in the draft ordinance.
The original draft restricted the motorized scooters from low-speed, shared roads known as “bicycle boulevards,” but the text is now changed to restrict them from separated bikeways.
Councilmembers unanimously voted to approve the updated ordinance. They must take another vote before it becomes official.
The council also voted to extend its original grace period to 90 days before its Police Department would begin enforcement — citing riders a range of $25 to $250 or impounding their vehicles.
Councilmember Jose Preciado attempted to extend the grace period to 180 days, but his motion failed.
Just days after the council passed its original draft two weeks ago, an 8-year-old boy died after he was struck by a car while riding an e-scooter. Councilmember Michael Inzunza, who pushed for the ordinance, said the tragic incident proves a need for urgency.
“I don’t want to wait until this happens again,” he said at the meeting Tuesday. “I don’t want to have to wait until another kid is killed.”
Opponents of the ordinance say the city needs to make changes elsewhere, such as designing streets that are less car-centered.
Ian Hembree, advocacy and community manager for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, told the council on Tuesday that he pointed out the error in the city’s draft ordinance.
Hembree also urged the council to consider improving safety by including separated bikeways on high-speed roadways and inserting traffic-calming infrastructure to reduce speeds across the city. Hembree referenced the ordinance’s ban on riding e-scooters on sidewalks, saying people use sidewalks instead of the roads because they feel safest there.
“It reflects the desire for safer streets, and that is your responsibility,” Hembree said.
Hembree asked to conduct more engagement with local stakeholders.
Randy Torres-Van Vleck, a representative of Bike Walk Chula Vista, told inewsource he believes the ordinance was “very heavy-handed” in its enforcement approach.
The city had presented local data showing 16 e-bike collisions over the past year, with about 75% of them resulting in emergency room visits, but Torres-Van Vleck said that’s not enough to use for drafting a law.
“There’s no analysis in the crash data about what caused the crashes,” he said, adding that officials didn’t determine whether the collisions were caused by poorly designed infrastructure.
Assistant Police Chief Dan Peak told the council the department has not had a system of categorizing e-bike crashes because of their novelty.
For now, Peak said analysts are reviewing the calls for service by asking about the type of vehicle.
“This is emerging technology, and the police department is trying to catch up with it,” Peak said. “What the data shows, is that it continues to be an emerging problem.”
The proposed ordinance would add restrictions to “electric micromobility vehicles,” which are defined as lightweight, low-speed electric vehicles such as e-bikes, motorized scooters, electrically motorized boards and low-speed vehicles. People with disabilities who are using mobility devices, such as motorized wheelchairs and seated scooters, would be excluded from these new rules.
Adults would be prohibited from “knowingly allowing” children under 12 to use e-bikes or riding with children on an e-bike; restricting all types of e-bikes from sidewalks in business districts and roads with 40 mph speed limits or greater; and making helmets mandatory for those under age 18.
The city plans to roll out a campaign to teach locals about the latest e-bike rules, such as conducting public forums and coordinating educational material for students in Chula Vista schools.
Chula Vista’s ordinance was made possible through a temporary state law. As a pilot program, Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, D-Encinitas, proposed a law that gives only San Diego County cities the ability to implement stricter rules on electric micromobility vehicles.
In an interview with inewsource before the council meeting, Inzunza said he plans to continue taking regulations on e-bikes even further. He plans to work with legislators to propose a state law that would require a motorcycle license to ride Class 3 e-bikes, which travel at a speed of 28 mph.
“It’s just too dangerous,” Inzunza said.
Chula Vista councilmembers vote again on the ordinance Aug. 5.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
