The growing popularity of electric bikes and electric scooters – especially among youth — see riders taking over sidewalks, streets and trails, often sending pedestrians scurrying and municipal leaders working to add regulations to curb usage.
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Some area towns like Norridge have an outright ban on e-bikes and e-scooters, as they are more commonly known, while other towns like Morton Grove, Park Ridge and Lincolnwood have either instituted or are considering regulations that restrict riders’ ages, motor wattage and riding locations. The village of Niles is continuing discussions around e-bike and e-scooter regulations.
Illinois law restricts anyone under the age of 16 from riding a bike that can reach more than 20 miles per hour. State law also regulates low-speed electric scooters to have a maximum speed limit of 10 mph, they’re prohibited on roadways with a speed limit over 35 mph and riders must be 18 years old.
Village leaders have moved to add local rules in an effort, they have said, to protect pedestrians.
Norridge
Police Chief Brian Goss recalls a specific incident in Norridge where a small child was hurt after being struck by a teen riding an e-bike.
“On April 29, a 15-year-old juvenile on an e-bike hit a 4-year-old girl and put her in the hospital,” said Norridge Police Chief Brian Goss. “Thankfully, she’s OK, and we ticketed him.
“Bottom line, we don’t allow them,” Goss told Pioneer Press, referring to both e-bike and e-scooter use in Norridge.
The village ordinance approved in 2021reads, “No person shall operate motor driven or electric cycles upon any public or private street, public sidewalk, parking lot, bike path or public park.”
During the village’s “Island in the City Festival” in July, police saw kids riding e-bikes at the festival. The chief explained that the kids were initially issued a warning, and when they were observed riding again, they were ticketed and their parents were called.
Fines range from $40 to $750 for each offense, Goss said, and police can impound the vehicles.
In March, police started a campaign educating the community about the e-bikes and e-scooter restrictions.
“It comes down to the safety factor,” Goss said. “We’re a city town, people are living here and taking transportation to the CTA Blue Line or Metra and maybe using an e-bike or e-scooter to get there. We’re looking at the kids who are riding unsafe, not paying attention to what they’re doing.”
He plans to continue his education campaign as the new school year starts. The chief said e-bikes and e-scooters are prohibited on school property in the village. He said parents who are considering buying their child an e-bike or e-scooter – thinking it may be fun – may not be aware the village prohibits them.
Morton Grove
Since 2006, Morton Grove village code had restricted mini-bikes, said Village Administrator Chuck Meyer. But the Village Board approved at its Aug. 12 meeting new regulations for e-bike and e-scooter use in town, joining the growing number of area suburbs looking to put some brakes on the increasingly popular vehicles.
“I think we’ve made the streets a little bit safer,” Morton Grove mayor Janine Witko said at the board meeting after the new ordinance passed.
The new regulations provide e-bikes, which were previously prohibited on public roads and sidewalks within the village, with legal status and guidelines for their use.
The new ordinance notes that “Morton Grove has experienced a rise in the prevalence and use” of them.
Language was added to the village code defining e-bikes. The ordinance also changes the minimum age to use them from18 years old to 16 – matching the minimum age to obtain a driver’s license – and more closely follows state guidelines and rules established in nearby towns. The ordinance also clarifies that a driver’s license is required to operate e-bikes, and states that class of vehicle is not intended for roads and sidewalks.
Meyer said before the ordinance was approved that village leaders had heard concerns about how fast the e-bikes could go on residential streets. There were also laments about youth-involved accidents.
“The village has seen an increase, and we’ve received a lot of concerns from residents about the prevalence of these devices in the community,” Meyer told Pioneer Press. “They’re in neighborhoods, on routes to the Metra train station, and also on the trails of the Cook County Forest Preserves which make up about a fifth of our village.
The code was updated to reflect the three classes of e-bikes identified by Illinois law: Class 1 low-speed electric bicycles are pedal assist and limited to 10 mph, with a maximum assist speed of 20 mph, with no age requirement. Class 2 low-speed electric bicycles are pedal and throttle assistance with a maximum speed of 20 mph, with no age requirement. Class 3 low-speed electric bicycles have a maximum speed of 28 mph and pedal assist with a minimum age requirement of 16 years old.
Low-powered scooters that travel less than 10 mph do not have an age limit and can be used on sidewalks, according to the ordinance.
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“Our intention with this is just safety, and educating people,” Meyer said.
He explained that the police department is updating the village website and engaging with local schools to make residents aware of the new regulations.
“We can achieve compliance without having to resort to fines,” he said.
Niles
Neighboring Niles has also seen an increase in the use of e-bikes and e-scooters but doesn’t have any restrictions in place just yet.
“We’re in the early stages of understanding what regulation might look like, weighing the pros and cons, taking a look at what other towns are doing then going from there,” acting Village Manager Katie Schneider told Pioneer Press.
“Currently for us in Niles, we have our Public Safety Committee – which is made up of the police and fire department, residents and led by Trustee Dean Strzelecki – looking at what the benefits are, looking at where safety mechanisms come into place, not just for e-bikes, but traditional bicycles versus cars, looking at it as a whole. Then our Bike and Pedestrian committee is also looking at it.”
Discussions have explored putting age restrictions in place, requiring helmets and how local regulations could be compliant with state law.
Strzelecki, a former Niles police chief, said the village is being proactive rather than reactive, and listening to all members of the community before setting any regulations.
“We don’t want to rush into this, that’s why we’re getting the Bike and Pedestrian Committee involved,” Strzelecki said.
He said the committee has concerns that traditional bicycle users will be impacted by new regulations.
“I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls, and social media, and most of it in support of regulations. It’s been all positive as far as limiting riders on the streets,” he said.
The trustee said he “worries about the e-bikes,” and has witnessed many near misses with e-scooters and e-bikes.
“You see kids on streets, sidewalks, doing figure eights in the middle of the intersections, that’s what we’re trying to control,” Strzelecki said, adding young kids, and even some adults, don’t always follow the rules of the road.
“I was in law enforcement for 29 years, this is not going to be easy to enforce,” he said, adding the committee hasn’t talked about fines or enforcement. “I’d rather work on the education end.”
Park Ridge
On July 21, the Park Ridge City Council approved its first-ever restrictions on e-bikes and e-scooters in the city. The ordinance requires e-bikers to follow the rules of the road and travel only in city streets, not parks. Also, the vehicle should display a classification number that corresponds with Illinois Vehicle Code, the vehicle’s top assisted speed and its motor wattage. The ordinance also requires any rider of a Class 1 or Class 2 low-speed electric bicycle to be at least 14 years old, and a Class 3 low-speed electric bicycle, 16 years old.
The ordinance allows e-scooters to travel on some city sidewalks, but electric mobility devices — defined as both e-scooters and low-speed electric bicycles — are prohibited on school property, and in the Uptown, library or city commons areas, in addition to a number of streets throughout the city. Fines for each ordinance violation range from $25 to $50.
“I think having an ordinance will give us better guidance,” Park Ridge police Chief Bob Kampwirth said at the July City Council meeting, adding he saw the “pluses and minuses” to it.
Lincolnwood
Electric scooter and e-bike riders are frequent visitors to Henry Proesel Park in Lincolnwood, said Village Manager Anne Marie Gaura. The large community park features multiple baseball and softball fields, tennis and volleyball courts, playgrounds, a shelter and is a large gathering place for residents. Safety there is a concern, she said.
“You can visually see the difference between when someone is on an e-bike, as opposed to when they’re being propelled by human power, just by the speed that they’re traveling,” Gaura said. “The concern is that you have to look at four components from both the scooters and bikes driven on streets, sidewalks, trails and parks. In particular with Proesel Park and the pathways going through the park and the number of people using the park, when you’re seeing a scooter or e-bike going by a person that’s not expecting a bike to be going past them at a high speed, it startles people. It makes you have to be more alert to what’s going on around you and how fast these bicycles and scooters are coming at you.”
Gaura said village staff recognize the safety concerns and need for regulation, and brought the issue to the July 15 Village Board Committee-of-the-Whole meeting for discussion. A memo prepared by police Chief Jay Parrott — which noted some e-bikes are going up to 28 mph, which is faster than the 25 mph speed limit in some residential areas — is under review by the village Traffic Commission.
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The police chief recommends that Class 1 and Class 2 low-speed electric bicycle users be at least 16 years old. He suggests the village prohibit Class 3 low-speed electric bicycles village-wide. Also, use of all low-speed electric bicycles on sidewalks should be prohibited and a speed limit of 10 mph be established for when pedestrians are present on designated bicycle trails in the village.
A meeting is expected to be scheduled sometime this fall, Gaura said, that will invite public comment. She expects a recommendation to the Village Board from the Traffic Commission on how to proceed.
“We know this is a very important topic and we want to take it to the next step as soon as possible,” Gaura said.
In 2021, the village modified its code to prohibit all motor-driven scooters in the village, she said. The code defines motor-driven scooters as: “Any electric or gas-driven wheeled scooter, all-terrain vehicle, go-cart, minibike, motorized skateboard, off-road motorcycle, or other similar motor-driven vehicle.” Fines for violation of the code range from $50 to $500, and parental responsibility is attached for minors committing any motor-driven offense.
“As the cost of these bikes come down and become more affordable, you have parents purchasing e-bikes and e-scooters for their children,” Gaura said. “If you have children operating scooters and bikes, they don’t necessarily understand or know the rules of the road. If they’re taking these e-bikes and e-scooters onto roadways, and going higher than the speed limit, they don’t understand how vehicles are operating.”
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.