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City staff to bring ordinance to ban motorcycles and pedal-less e-bikes from parks including Dry Canyon
Summary
City staff presented draft ordinance language that would explicitly bar motorcycles and any self-propelled vehicle without pedals from parks — including Dry Canyon — while leaving electric scooters and pedal-equipped e-bikes permitted; staff said the draft borrows the state's motorcycle definition and will be posted for council first and second readings.
Pete, a city staff member who introduced the draft ordinance, told the work session the proposal began as an e-bike ordinance but was expanded to explicitly prohibit motorcycles and any self-propelled vehicle that does not have pedals from city parks, including Dry Canyon. “It kind of it started out as an ebike ordinance… and it's kind of, evolved… to be more of a prohibition on motorcycles,” he said. The draft borrows the state's statutory definition of a motorcycle and adds a component to exclude vehicles that have pedals; under the draft, an e-bike without pedals would be treated as a motorcycle and therefore prohibited while pedal-equipped bicycles — with or without electric assist — would remain allowed.
Council members asked how the ordinance would affect scooters and single-wheel devices. A council member asked, “does that land us on, like, electric scooters? Because it's just not included at all.” Pete responded that scooters would not be covered and would remain allowed under the current draft. Staff clarified that one-wheeled devices and similar micro-mobility vehicles would also not be classified as motorcycles under the proposed language.
Members raised enforcement concerns. One council member asked whether officers could practically identify pedals in the field; staff acknowledged enforcement would be challenging in routine patrols and described a strategy of focused operations and targeted patrols similar to holiday speed enforcement. Staff also said summer SRO and mountain-bike patrols in Dry Canyon would support enforcement. On signage, staff said clear park signs stating what is permitted and prohibited would be important so visitors know the rules before entering park areas.
Pete said the city plans to post the ordinance and bring it to council for first and second readings before the end of the school year, with the expectation of scheduling a council meeting on the April/May timeline. No formal vote took place at the work session. If adopted at readings, the ordinance would create an explicit prohibition in city code (the draft language references the state's motorcycle definition), but enforcement would rely on focused patrols, signage and operational staffing decisions.
The council did not take formal action at the work session; staff said they would post the draft ordinance and prepare it for council readings in the coming weeks.
