Cities across Orange County have been debating electric bicycle regulations and adding new rules on speed and safety for the growing population of residents and teens using e-bikes.
Laguna Niguel is the latest city that’s taking a look at city law and tightening certain rules in order to keep bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians safe on the road.
City Council members voted unanimously last Tuesday to add more e-bike rules in an effort to address safety concerns.
“We’ve really pushed education over the last couple of years, but I believe now is the time to provide our sheriff deputies with some tools so that if somebody is operating an e-bike in an unsafe and dangerous manner then they can take action,” Councilmember Rey Gennawey said.
Mayor Kelly Jennings and Gennawey proposed the increased regulations, with a majority of the council discussion centered around teenagers on e-bikes weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds or going too fast on sidewalks.
The changes — which still need a second vote before they become law — would prohibit e-bike users from using their cell phones while riding and require e-bike riders under 18 to wear a helmet.
The changes would also bar any riders from performing a wheelie.
“It’s not a quick wheelie for a span of five feet,” Councilmember Ray Gennawey said during the Feb. 20 meeting. “They’re going down a hill. They’re going a span of 100 yards in oncoming traffic. My heart just stops, thinking about what happens if they go an inch too far backward when traffic is coming.”
Jennings also said e-bikes have become a road hazard.
“We all know examples of groups of teens we’ve seen stopping traffic, popping wheelies in traffic and otherwise creating other safety problems for them and others on the road, sidewalks and trails,” Jennings said at the meeting.
She added, “My main goal here is to keep everyone safe.”
[Read: Orange County Cities Crack Down on E-Bikes With Stricter Regulations]
While the county government is working on its own e-bike regulations, several council members said it was still important to get these changes on the books sooner rather than later.
“Let’s just get moving on this, particularly so that way we have something that’s in place.” Councilmember Stephanie Winstead said. “It’s in place before spring break [and] before summer when people are going to be more active on our roads.”
The council will consider the proposed ordinance again at their meeting on March 5. If it’s approved at that meeting, it will go into effect 30 days later.
Laguna Niguel first approved an e-bike action plan in 2021.
Councilmember Foster “Gene” Johns, who served over 31 years as a Deputy Sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said the proposed ordinance is “much-needed” and “long overdue.”
“We don’t have to write tickets. We don’t have to take the bikes,” Johns said. “We can stop the child and give them the spirit of the law, warn, advise, explain what they did wrong and give them a second chance. It’s not that we have to be all stick. We can be forgiving on it.”
Cities across the county — especially coastal towns — have addressed e-bikes differently.
In Huntington Beach, law enforcement has the power to impound e-bikes if parked incorrectly. People are also prohibited from riding in an “unsafe manner.”
In Irvine, there’s a 28 mph speed limit for e-bikes on main roads and a 20 mph speed limit on bike paths.
In Laguna Beach, e-bikes aren’t allowed on sidewalks, the Main Beach Boardwalk or public parks.
In San Clemente, e-bikes are prohibited from the beach and beach trail.
[Read: Orange County Cities Struggle To Handle Electric Bike Regulations]
The Laguna Niguel City Council’s next regular meeting is on March 5 at 7 p.m.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
•••
Can you support Voice of OC with a donation?
You obviously care about local news and value good journalism here in Orange County. With your support, we can bring you more stories like these.