Encinitas will follow its neighboring cities and enact new e-bike regulations to promote youth safety, City Council members unanimously decided Wednesday.

Changes to city ordinances could include an age limit on e-bike use, the establishment of bike dismount zones in the coastal downtown region, and even the potential of bike confiscation, if teens don’t follow the rules, council members said as they directed city employees to draft some proposed ordinance changes for their later consideration.

Councilmember Jim O’Hara said that a city conversation on e-bike safety was “overdue,” while Mayor Bruce Ehlers said he had planned to bring the issue up during the council’s goal-setting workshop. That annual event is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, starting both days at 8:30 a.m. at the Encinitas Library’s community room.

In a report produced for Wednesday’s council meeting, O’Hara wrote that Encinitas should amend its municipal codes in several spots, so that its regulations are similar to the “more robust enforcement tools” now being pursued by Oceanside and Carlsbad. His proposals included:

  • Establishing a minimum age of 12 or older to ride a Class 1 (electric-assist) or Class 2 (fully electric-powered, but achieving speeds of less than 20 mph) bike, as Carlsbad is doing. State law prohibits people under age 16 from riding a higher-speed, Class 3 electric bike;
  • Setting new stands for daytime running lights on bikes and “stricter parental accountability” for people age 16 to 18 who are operating Class 3 bikes;
  • Allowing the temporary seizure of e-bikes for “reckless riding” incidents and situations where officers are citing the same offender for the third time, particularly in “high traffic areas” such as Coast Highway 101 — something that Oceanside is pursuing;
  • Creating a sidewalk dismount zone, or a walking speed of 5 mph, in “heavily pedestrian corridors, such as downtown Encinitas or Cardiff-by-the-Sea;
  • Formalizing a “fix-it” ticket system, where people can have their fines waived if they complete a certified bike safety course.

“The goal is to balance the popularity of micro-mobility with the urgent need for pedestrian safety and predictable roadway behavior,” O’Hara wrote.

As he discussed his proposals, O’Hara said he was “strongly in favor” of the age limit proposal and the sidewalk dismount zones, and considered the impoundment item a method of last resort for major offenders.

His fellow council members said they looked forward to seeing what city employees would bring back to them as proposed code amendments in the coming weeks, and said they wanted to emphasize safety education, instead of bike confiscation.

“I think e-bikes are here to stay,” Councilmember Luke Shaffer said, later adding, “this is a generational shift.”

Young people’s use of e-bikes greatly increased during the COVID pandemic lockdowns, and many area children now ride them daily to school. The dramatic increase in e-bike use has fueled complaints from vehicle drivers, shown up in traffic accident statistics and resulted in new bike safety courses.

The recent passage of state Assembly Bill 2234 has inspired cities in San Diego County to try out new e-bike regulations or expand existing ones. Introduced by state Assemblymember and former Encinitas Councilmember Tasha Boerner, the law allows San Diego County municipalities to adopt a 12-year-old age limit for e-bike use under a special pilot program. Cities have until early 2029 to enact their new ordinances, and the county needs to report enforcement data to the state by Jan. 1, 2028, under the terms of the pilot project.

Encinitas began expanding its bicycle education programs several years ago. That effort took on extra urgency after a 15-year-old e-bike rider was killed at the intersection of Santa Fe Drive and El Camino Real in June 2023.

In response to the boy’s death, the council declared a state of emergency and later supported lowering vehicle speed limits on many area roadways. The council’s emergency declaration on bike safety was modeled on one that Carlsbad approved in August 2022 after a dramatic increase in bike and e-bike collisions, including two fatalities in a 17-day period.