Candidates call for education, signage and targeted enforcement to tackle e-bike crashes

Candidates at a North Logan forum proposed a mix of education, targeted enforcement and clearer signage to address ebike and e-motorcycle crashes and confusion about vehicle classifications.

Why it matters: E-bike and e-motorcycle use is rising; candidates said local riders — particularly youth — and pedestrians are at risk when users and drivers do not understand rules or vehicle classifications.

Tim McCabe emphasized education before enforcement, suggesting school outreach, library postings and a bike rodeo with demonstrations by police riders to teach safe operation: "Just focusing on education before enforcement to make sure that everybody knows the rules and that it's really about keeping the community safe, not just enforcing rules," he said. Emily Schmidt said she was not familiar with all vehicle-class distinctions until recent review and urged multi-channel public education including emails, events and school engagement. Kirk Larson and other candidates recommended signage near the high school and along sidewalks heavily used by students. Several candidates suggested workshops, consistent valleywide rules, and police outreach that issues warnings and information to riders rather than immediate citations.

Lindsay Peterson said the council plans to conduct a survey to both educate and gather input, and she said the council supports banning e-bikes and similar devices from certain pedestrian paths: "We all support a ban on our removed paths," Peterson said.

No regulatory changes were enacted during the forum. Candidates said next steps should include coordinated education campaigns, targeted signage at high-use corridors and valley-level collaboration to create uniform rules and enforcement practices.