Wheeling Council Discusses Need for Increased E-Bike Safety
Photo by Eric Ayres Trending
WHEELING - Concerns about e-bike safety were raised during Tuesday night’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, as more and more electric motor-assisted bicycles have come to share thoroughfares in the city with motor vehicles and pedestrians.
City officials are expected to explore the possibility of developing legislation that could help strengthen safety measures for e-bike riders.
"I know the city staff has been working on that," Councilman Ben Seidler said during Tuesday night’s council meeting. "E-bikes are definitely becoming a significant issue."
Seidler indicated that a "stack of surveillance videos" shows incidents in which e-bike riders in the city have had close calls or have created dangerous situations.
"Somebody’s going to die," Seidler said. "They’re ridiculous. They’re flying down the streets at an excessive speed. We really need to continue to push forward and look at legislation to address that."
Councilman Ty Thorngate suggested that perhaps it would be advantageous to see if city leaders could discuss this matter with local delegates to see if e-bike usage could be addressed as a statewide issue.
"Only because every community could have some type of different rule," Thorngate said. "If we just had one set of e-bike rules for West Virginia, it might be easier."
Enhanced rules for e-bike users could improve safety, which officials seemed to agree on.
"Last week, we had two kids coming down - two on a bike - and they had to be going 35-40 mph," Seidler said. "They were flying. Cars come around those things without stopping. Somebody’s going to get hurt."
Seidler noted prohibiting e-bikes is not the goal.
"I mean, I think they’re cool - I don’t want to get rid of them," he said. "I want to be clear. The purpose is not to regulate the heck out of it. It’s just a matter of public safety. We don’t want to lose a kid ... or an adult."
The Wheeling Police Department this summer launched a campaign to help inform the public about bicycle, e-bike and scooter safety. For e-bikes in particular, there are different rules in place currently for the different classes of electronic bicycles. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes can go up to 20 mph and are allowed anywhere traditional bicycles are permitted, including on Heritage Trail. Class 3 e-bikes can accelerate up to 28 mph or more. Those bikes must be equipped with a speedometer that displays speed in miles per hour, and they are not permitted on Heritage Trail.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger noted that there have been incidents of recklessness with e-bikes and motorized scooters in the city, and there has been a noticeable increase in their popularity.
"Going at least 35 mph in and out of traffic on National Road - that’s unacceptable," the chief said. "We’ve had a few scooter crashes already - nothing significant, but most of those have been caused by the scooter operator, running into the side of a vehicle and not obeying the stop signs and other rules of the road like they’re supposed to."
Current city rules regarding bicycles, e-bikes and scooters can be found online at www.wheelingwv.gov/MotorizedScooter.
In other action Tuesday, members of Wheeling City Council heard a first reading of a resolution regarding the reimbursement of expenditures from the proceeds of Oglebay Park Improvement Revenue Bonds. The city expects to issue up to $20 million in bonds on behalf of the Wheeling Park Commission for ongoing improvements at Oglebay Park.
The city has assisted the Wheeling Park Commission in the past with this type of funding to assist with major capital improvements at its facilities. The Wheeling Park Commission cannot borrow money or incur debt, but it can pledge revenue. Officials from the Wheeling Park Commission are expected to appear before Wheeling City Council at the next council meeting to outline its plans for these funds that the city is expected to help secure.