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TAB members press for education, enforcement as eMotors proliferate
Summary
TAB members raised safety concerns about unregulated eMotors and similar devices, urged coordinated education with schools and police, and asked staff to consider a future agenda item and invitations to police and Safe Routes partners to discuss enforcement and outreach.
Members of Boulder’s Transportation Advisory Board used the May 11 meeting to press staff and partners for a coordinated approach to rising use of eMotors and other electric personal vehicles — citing injuries, unclear legality of some devices and the spread of misinformation.
"The kids are getting injured," one board member said, describing reports and news coverage of youth injuries. Chair Darcy Kitching recounted seeing "a young person with another young person standing behind him, going down Folsom on an eMoto and, taking a very illegal left turn across traffic," to emphasize the safety stakes.
Board members and staff discussed a range of responses: stepped-up public education in partnership with Boulder Valley School District and Boulder County; materials and campaigns already available through the city's "share the path" outreach; the police department's hang-tag program to mark devices not legal for streets or sidewalks; and legal research under way in the city attorney’s office about state-level authority. Several members recommended making eMotor safety a future TAB agenda item for coordinated discussion that could include the police department and Safe Routes to School representatives.
Blythe noted the police department is already placing hang tags on some devices to inform users when a machine is not legal on streets or sidewalks, and she said the city attorney was researching state law around e-motor classification following an earlier council "nod of three" to pursue that work. Board members suggested low-cost, achievable steps such as school-based education materials, social-media campaigns and targeted outreach during seasons when adoption increases.
The board asked staff to follow up on coordination opportunities with the police, Safe Routes, BVSD and county partners and to consider a future meeting item so members could advise on a role TAB might play in public education, outreach and policy recommendations.
