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Carlsbad council advances e‑bike safety package but removes proposed nighttime age restriction
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Summary
After a wide-ranging staff presentation, council directed staff to draft code updates, seek participation in AB 2234, authorize park-specific prohibitions at Poinsettia and Pine, add unsafe‑passing language and impound procedures — and voted unanimously to remove a proposed restriction banning under‑16 riders from operating e‑bikes during hours of darkness.
City staff presented a comprehensive e‑bike safety strategy and a set of seven recommendations that would combine state pilot participation, local code clarifications, targeted place‑based restrictions, and new enforcement tools. After hours of questions, public comment and discussion, the City Council asked staff to draft ordinances for most recommendations, added language about unsafe passing, and unanimously removed a proposed ordinance that would have prohibited riders younger than 16 from operating e‑bikes during hours of darkness.
Lieutenant Jason Arnotti (Traffic Division) summarized local collision and enforcement data showing seasonal spikes in e‑bike calls for service, enforcement activity and collisions during spring and summer months. Arnotti described three classifications of e‑bikes under California law (Class 1–3), noted the rise of high‑powered “electric motorcycles” and modified devices that exceed legal limits, and said the police conducted hundreds of enforcement stops this year including more than 430 traffic contacts that produced 180 citations and 250 warnings.
Senior Assistant City Attorney Jennifer True outlined the statutory framework for two state pilot bills: AB 2234 (a San Diego County pilot permitting jurisdictions to set a minimum riding age of 12 for Class 1/2 e‑bikes) and AB 1778 (a Marin County pilot that restricts Class 2 operation to 16+ in Marin only). True explained that Carlsbad could adopt AB 2234 locally as written, but could only pursue a 16+ restriction under AB 1778 if the legislature expands the Marin pilot to include Carlsbad.
Staff recommendations included: adopting AB 2234 locally, pursuing legislation to join the AB 1778 Marin pilot, pursuing authority for passenger restrictions, updating municipal code Chapter 10.56 to add explicit examples of unsafe riding behavior and parent/guardian accountability, establishing a local hours‑of‑darkness restriction for under‑16 riders, prohibiting e‑bike operation at Poinsettia and Pine Avenue community parks, and drafting procedures to implement impound authority under AB 875 (effective 01/01/2026).
Public comment came from a resident and certified League of American Bicyclists instructor who praised existing actions (sidewalk prohibitions, certified officer training, impound actions) and urged adding unsafe passing language. Council members asked detailed operational questions about drone use for documentation of rideouts and the feasibility of distinguishing device classes and rider ages in the field; staff described drone tactics to identify riders for later contact and noted the difficulty of visually confirming rider age or device class without an on‑site inspection.
Council debate centered on age cutoffs, parent accountability, nighttime restrictions, the practicality of enforcement, and whether park prohibitions should be limited to the two problem parks or extended to the whole park system. Parks director Kyle Lancaster warned that a parkwide prohibition would increase signage and rack upgrades costs—roughly $15,000 for the two parks now proposed and several hundred thousand dollars to add all parks—while providing consistent rules and reducing rider migration between parks.
The council reached the following directions: staff should draft code amendments to clarify unsafe riding examples (including unsafe passing), pursue participation in AB 2234 and legislative options to pursue AB 1778 inclusion, draft a park‑specific prohibition ordinance for Poinsettia and Pine (and the council delegated authority to the city manager to add parks in the future if needed), and prepare an ordinance to exercise impound authority under AB 875. The council voted unanimously to remove the hours‑of‑darkness restriction for riders under 16 (the council asked staff to collect more data on nighttime incidents and retained the option to revisit that measure). Councilmembers emphasized education, engineering and targeted enforcement—rather than blanket bans—as the preferred approach.
Next steps: staff will draft ordinances implementing the council’s directions, including municipal code updates (unsafe riding examples and parental accountability), a park prohibition for Poinsettia and Pine, and impound procedures, and will return those drafts to council for introduction and adoption.
