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Public safety meeting: city plans outreach, possible citations after e-bike complaints
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Summary
After neighborhood complaints, staff explained state e-bike classifications, said posted guidance is available on the city website, and indicated the city will begin enforcing infractions (education first, then citations and juvenile-court summonses) if problems persist; complaints are concentrated in Ward 4 and on the greenway.
At the April 14 Public Safety Meetings session, members discussed resident complaints about high-speed e-bikes and the city's planned response, which will mix education and enforcement.
A staff member who handled the presentation of materials said officers were given a form and that related guidance had been posted to the city website to help with enforcement after recent state-law changes. A staff member confirmed the materials are available online.
On classification and enforcement, the group explained how state law treats different e-bike categories. One participant summarized the classes: "So so class 1 and class 2 go up to 20 miles an hour. They're classified as the same. The only difference is 1 is pedal assisted and the other 1 is throttle assisted," and described class 3 as the faster category with additional equipment and age requirements.
The presenter described the city's approach as starting with outreach and education but said enforcement will escalate if unsafe operation continues: "We're gonna start issuing citations and then summonses in the juvenile court because we've we've tried doing the education piece." The meeting also noted a pending age-change in state law (remarks in the session said the minimum age would shift from 14 to 16 in July) and that many devices lack proper markings, making on-the-spot classification difficult for officers.
Geographic focus and next steps: staff said complaints are city-wide but called out Ward 4 and the greenway as areas with concentrated issues. The presenter suggested asking Officer Lackey to produce a short video for the police web page to help public education; staff said they will pursue that and other outreach measures.
No formal enforcement policy was voted on at the meeting; staff described planned outreach and a possible escalation to citations and juvenile-court summonses if behavior does not improve.
