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Resident Fritz Pollard urges Los Alamitos USD to place e-bike safety on agenda after near-misses
Summary
At the June 23 Los Alamitos Unified School District board meeting, resident Fritz Pollard asked the board to add an e-bike safety item after describing near-misses involving his wife and students; district staff and law enforcement said they are already expanding safety classes and enforcement.
Fritz Pollard, a self-identified Los Alamitos resident, told the school board at its June 23 meeting that his wife and local students have been endangered by high-speed e-bikes on sidewalks and asked the board to place an e-bike safety item on a future agenda.
“My wife was out front of our house sweeping and was almost blindsided by 2 e-bikers doing about 30 miles an hour on the sidewalk,” Pollard said, describing repeated doorstep confrontations and near-misses at school dismissal. He asked the board to take action, saying, “We are gonna lose 1 of our kids.”
The request prompted a response from board members and district staff explaining existing and planned steps. Dr. Polner, speaking for the board, said the district has coordinated with law enforcement and is tightening campus requirements for e-bike riders. “In order for them to ride an e-bike on our campuses, they have to attend a safety class, and then they get a bike sticker,” Polner said, adding that the district will require the class annually for middle school riders beginning next year.
Polard cited Newport Mesa’s policy of banning e-bikes at elementary and middle schools as a precedent and said he had shared video evidence with the county sheriff’s traffic unit; he told the board that sheriff’s deputies had increased patrols and issued citations after reviewing the footage.
District officials and board members emphasized that traffic enforcement falls to the city and law enforcement agencies, not the district. Polner noted the district is continuing to explore additional safety protocols and encouraged community members to work with city partners to address jurisdictional enforcement differences.
The board did not take immediate action at the meeting; Pollard asked only that the topic be placed on a future agenda so the community and board can pursue options.
What’s next: The board directed staff and community partners to continue conversations; Pollard said he would be available to share information and support the district’s work to improve safety.
