Winnetka trustees voted for new restrictions on electric scooters and some higher-speed electric vehicles, with plans to introduce a separate ordinance at a later date for electric bicycles.
Riders of e-scooters in Winnetka must be at least 18 years of age and carry a valid driver’s license, while riders of electric dirt bikes, defined as having motors above 750 watts, must hold a driver’s license and have their vehicle titled and registered.
The ordinance also includes a broad ban on operating any “motor-driven vehicle” – defined as any vehicle with a gas or electric motor not subject to Illinois title, registration or license plate requirements – from all village bike paths and parks as well as from commercial areas, such as shopping districts.
Electric bicycles are excluded from the ordinance’s definition of motor-driven vehicle, however.
Trustees voted unanimously for the new ordinance.
“I believe what’s being presented tonight is in good taste,” Trustee Kirk Albinson said.
Winnetka Police Chief Brian O’Connell said the police planned to partner with the Winnetka Park District and area schools for an educational campaign on the new regulations.
O’Connell said trustees can expect a separate ordinance regulating electric bicycles, after trustees raised concerns at a meeting the previous week about placing unduly cumbersome restrictions on riders of the slower, often pedal-driven vehicles.
O’Connell suggested that further regulations could allow for younger riders to operate electric bicycles in the village with parental supervision,” but said that riders could expect similar restrictions to other electric vehicles.
“You’re going to see similar operational restrictions, you’re going to see age and driver’s license requirements, you’re going to see similar location restrictions,” he said, later adding, “I do not believe in putting a 13-year-old on the road.”
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O’Connell has also expressed concern about modifications increasing the speed of electric bicycles, which he said could be done with a “quick Google search.”
He did say the future ordinance could allow for electric tandem bikes, or two-seater bikes, which some residents worried would be banned.
Trustee Tina Dalman said village leaders would need to “think deeply” about how it wanted to regulate electric bicycles.
“A lot of this will turn on the definition of ‘e-bike,’ whether altering the bike would change the definition,” she said.
Winnetka Parks Board President Elise Gibson indicated the park district board was considering its own rules for e-bikes in its jurisdiction.
That could affect the Green Bay Trail, since the Village of Winnetka administers the Winnetka portion of the Green Bay Trail and leases it to the Park District for maintenance and programming. Regulatory authority rests with the village and thus any Park District action on leased property must, at minimum, conform to village ordinances, Winnetka Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal later told Pioneer Press.
“Whether or not we are more prohibitive, I can’t speak to that, but certainly we want to be at least equal to the village in terms of restrictions,” Gibson said.
Several Chicago suburbs have passed new regulation on electric motor-driven vehicles in recent months, including Highland Park, Deerfield, Park Ridge, Glencoe, and Morton Grove.
Regulations have ranged from age restrictions to outright bans on e-bikes and e-scooters.
On Sept. 15, a 16-year-old student at Rolling Meadows High School died after his e-bike collided with a pick-up truck in Arlington Heights.
This story was updated after publication to clarify that the Winnetka Park District administers the Green Bay Trail and leases it to the Winnetka Park District for maintenance and programming. Any new Park District regulations would have to conform, at minimum, to Village of Wilmette ordinances, per Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal.