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Coppell council bans e-bikes on nature-trail surfaces, raises child helmet age to 16
Summary
The council approved two ordinances July 22: one banning electric-bicycle use on unimproved natural-surface trails in Coppell nature parks and another amending the helmet requirement so people 16 and younger must wear bicycle helmets.
Coppell — The Coppell City Council on July 22 approved two separate ordinances that update how the city regulates electric bicycles and protective headwear.
Chief Danny Barton of the Coppell Police Department told council members the actions reflect current state law and the city—s limited options for local regulation. "The department ... may not prohibit the operation of an electric bicycle on a highway that is used primarily by motor vehicles," Barton said, reading the statutory restriction the department relied on as it drafted the local ordinance.
What the council approved
Item 8: Council adopted an amendment to Chapter 9 (General Regulations), article 9-11 that adds electric bicycles to the list of devices prohibited on natural-surface trails at the Biodiversity Education Center and on unimproved surfaces within Coppell Nature Park and Wagon Wheel Park. The ordinance passed by unanimous vote (aye: Walker, Carroll, Nevills, Prem Kumar, Hill).
Item 9: Council amended Chapter 8 (Traffic Regulations) to add a definition for "ebicycle" and to raise Coppell's bicycle-helmet requirement from age 14 to age 16; the ordinance also passed unanimously (same vote roster). Chief Barton said the change aligns the local code with the state—s definition of a "child" and with common municipal practice.
Enforcement, education and the evidence base
Barton described several steps the department has taken this summer: increased patrols focused on high-speed e-bike riders, field education to encourage helmet use, coordination with school resource officers and helmet-safety sessions at Life Safety Park. He said the fire department recorded about six e-bike wreck responses this summer and that officers were confronting situations in which unskilled riders on fast e-bikes posed a safety risk to pedestrians.
Council discussion focused on practical limits to enforcement. Barton and staff said blanket sidewalk prohibitions would also ban ordinary bicycles and that speed limits on sidewalks are difficult to enforce. Council members asked staff to explore whether certain park paved paths could be reclassified as a trail system rather than a sidewalk so local restrictions could be applied to e-bikes on those paths; a staff legal review was requested.
Ending
Council adopted both measures as staff proposed. Police and parks staff said they will continue public education and targeted enforcement and return with legal analysis if council wants a more finely tailored restriction for paved park paths.
