What happened?
The discussion will be continued at a later date due to time constraints in the April 1 work session, according to city officials.
Mayor Bobby Lindamood proposed dedicating a full work session to the matter so there is enough time to address the council's questions.
“It’s complicated no matter which way you slice this so, as the mayor said, taking our time and being really thoughtful about the review has been our approach,” Assistant City Manager Adrienne Lothery said.
Diving deeper
City officials proposed regulations for electric bikes and scooters to not exceed 5 mph on sidewalks and trails, 15 mph on Cotton Belt Trail and the posted speed limit on local roads.
Other suggested restrictions include:
- Prohibiting mini-motorbike or pocket bike usage on public property in the city unless allowed by state law
- Prohibiting children ages 10 and younger to operate e-bikes and scooters on public property
- Prohibiting usage of e-bikes and scooters on an unimproved surface of public property unless accessing another paved surface or trail
- Permitting operation of any electronic bicycles on public streets not designated as “local” per the 2015 Master Thoroughfare Plan
- Restricting operation of electric scooters on public streets not designated as “local” on the 2015 Master Thoroughfare Plan
- Operating at a maximum speed of 30 mph to riders above 16 years old
- Operators of e-bikes and scooters must obey all traffic laws
- Prohibiting e-bikes and scooters after dusk unless equipped with front white lights visible from 500 feet away and a red rear reflector visible from 300 feet away or a lamp visible from 500 feet away
- Requiring children to wear helmets when riding an e-bike or e-scooter while riding on public property
- Holding parents and guardians responsible for knowingly allowing their child or ward to violate restrictions
“This is a starting place,” Lothery said. “We can get our red pens out and spend plenty of time making changes and getting additional feedback.”
Additional details
Colleyville is using the definitions that state law has for e-bikes, e-scooters, motor-assisted scooters and pocket bikes in its drafted ordinance, Lothery said.
E-bikes are bicycles equipped with pedals and an electric motor and have three different types. Class one and two bikes have a motor that stops when the bikes reach 20 mph and the motor on class three bikes stops at 28 mph.
The primary difference between a motor-assisted scooter and an electric scooter is that a motor-assisted scooter is self-propelled and cannot be propelled by human power alone.
A pocket bike or mini motor bike is a self-propelled vehicle without pedals that is equipped with an electric motor or internal combustion engine. A pocket bike can go up to 50 mph, Council Member Ben Graves said.
“The problem you’re going to have is that e-bikes themselves have [state] rights that the others don’t,” City Manager Jerry Ducay said.
The background
The issue was assigned to the city’s traffic advisory committee, which includes staff from public safety, public works and city management.
The committee reviewed regulations adopted by other cities and decided which would be the best fit for Colleyville. Once proposals were made, the city attorney reviewed them and made modifications based on state law requirements.
“The city only has a certain amount of control in terms of what regulations we’re allowed to adopt because there is a lot of this that is really set in stone with state law,” Lothery said.
State law generally requires that e-bikes be treated the same as bicycles while scooters are less regulated.
