By Allison Peck
Listen to the full meeting recap on our Kubota Podcast
North Platte is moving toward new rules for e-bikes, electric scooters and other similar devices, with city officials saying the goal is to make the increasingly popular forms of transportation safer and give police clearer rules to enforce.
The North Platte City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday night updating Chapter 75 of the city's code, which governs bicycles.
The proposed changes generated extensive discussion among council members as they worked through questions involving speed limits, where e-bikes can be ridden, sidewalk use, younger riders and how the rules would be enforced.
Mayor Brandon Kelliher said Wednesday the city's existing bicycle ordinance was largely written 50 years ago or more and contained provisions that were no longer practical or consistently followed.
The updated ordinance attempts to bring those rules in line with the types of bicycles and electric devices now being used around North Platte.
But Kelliher said the push to address e-bikes and scooters is also about safety.
He pointed to two fatal incidents in the community within roughly the past year and a half involving e-bikes, scooters or similar electric devices.
In one incident, Kelliher said a person died after apparently attempting to avoid an e-scooter that had violated, or appeared to have violated, a traffic law.
In another, a person riding an electric device on a sidewalk entered the path of a truck and was killed.
Kelliher acknowledged that determining exactly what type of device was involved can sometimes be difficult because the definitions of e-bikes, scooters and other electric devices can overlap.
That was part of the reason city officials wanted the ordinance to remain relatively straightforward.
During Tuesday's discussion, City Attorney Bill Boucher said the proposed ordinance was built by looking at similar regulations adopted by communities around Nebraska. He said he intentionally avoided some provisions he felt were too far-reaching.
The ordinance would establish that e-bike riders are subject to traffic laws and set rules for where the devices can be operated.
One of the biggest points of discussion was the 25-mile-per-hour threshold.
Under the proposed rules, e-bikes generally would not be permitted to travel on city streets with posted speed limits above 25 mph.
Kelliher said the intent is to keep riders off roads where the difference between the speed of an e-bike and surrounding vehicle traffic creates a greater safety risk.
“You don't want to encourage people to ride them down the middle of the street because they don't have the protections that a car does,” Kelliher said.
He pointed to streets such as Jeffers, Dewey, Buffalo and portions of East Fourth as examples where riders would need to consider whether traveling on the roadway is appropriate.
During the council discussion, members also worked through what the 25-mph rule would mean for riders traveling through different parts of the city.
The ordinance would allow riders to cross higher-speed streets, but would generally prevent them from using those roads as a route.
That distinction could matter on streets such as Buffalo, where portions of the roadway have speed limits above the proposed threshold.
Kelliher said the city is essentially encouraging riders to use lower-speed streets or other appropriate routes rather than traveling along higher-speed roads.
The ordinance applies within the city's corporate limits and does not extend into North Platte's two-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Sidewalk riding would still be allowed, but riders would be required to yield to pedestrians.
Kelliher said the ordinance is particularly important when younger riders are involved.
For riders under 16, the ordinance would make parents responsible for their child's behavior in certain circumstances.
That could include situations where a child fails to yield to pedestrians or otherwise violates the new rules.
The council also discussed the practice of multiple children riding on a single scooter.
Kelliher said council members had raised concerns about the behavior, particularly involving younger children riding together at relatively high speeds.
The proposed ordinance includes language intended to address tandem riding on scooters, although city officials were careful not to inadvertently prohibit things such as tandem bicycles.
Another question raised Tuesday was whether the city should create different classifications for different types of e-bikes.
Some e-bikes are pedal-assisted and travel at relatively modest speeds, while other models can travel significantly faster.
Council members discussed the possibility of using different classifications, but ultimately kept the initial ordinance more general.
Kelliher said that was intentional.
He said the city does not want to make the rules so specific that a new type of device immediately falls outside the ordinance.
“If we start them being a little more general, then in a year or two, if we start to have an issue with some type of e-bike or something like that, then the council can address it at that point,” Kelliher said.
That means the rules could eventually be adjusted if the city begins seeing problems involving specific types of devices.
The ordinance is only at its first reading, and additional changes could still be made.
Kelliher said that is particularly likely as council members receive feedback from residents.
“The second reading is almost always the most interesting one,” Kelliher said, because that is when situations that were not considered during the initial discussion can come forward.
Residents who have concerns or suggestions about the ordinance are encouraged to contact their city council representatives.
A formal public hearing is not currently expected, although Kelliher said the council could allow public comment depending on how contentious the issue becomes.
If the ordinance is ultimately approved, Kelliher said enforcement will initially focus on education rather than immediate citations.
Police would not simply begin issuing tickets as soon as the ordinance takes effect.
Instead, the city plans to educate residents, including through schools and public advertising, so riders and parents understand the new rules.
The ordinance would take effect two weeks after final passage. If the remaining process moves forward as expected, Kelliher said the earliest effective date would be around the beginning of October.
Ultimately, Kelliher said the goal is not to discourage e-bikes and scooters.
He acknowledged they can be a useful way to get around North Platte, but said the city wants to establish expectations before unsafe behavior becomes a larger problem.
“Without any sort of regulation, you're possibly setting people up to get hurt,” Kelliher said.
The ordinance will return to the council for another reading, with the possibility of additional amendments before final approval.