From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Agenda Item 25-711
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025 2:32:34 PM
Agenda Item 25-711
While no one disputes the issues with e-bikes, another ordinance is not the solution.
Let’s start with the facts of what is, and what isn’t, an e-bike.
The State of California recognizes and defines three classes of e-bikes: Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3. Here are their definitions:
An electric bicycle is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of
less than 750 watts. Three classes of electric bicycles have been established:
Class 1: A low-speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a motor which provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when a speed of 20 mph is reached.
Class 2: A low-speed throttle-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a motor used exclusively to propel the bicycle and NOT capable of providing assistance when a speed of 20 mph is reached.
Class 3: A low-speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a speedometer, and a motor which provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when a speed of 28 mph is reached.
Please note that the motor in even a Class 3 e-bike ceases to assist the rider at 28 mph, so while the bike could be going faster than 28 mph, it’s doing so on rider power just like a conventional bike..
Don’t confuse e-bikes with electric motorcycles. If it has no pedals, it’s not an e-bike. If the motor generates more than 750 watts, it’s not an e-bike.
So, there are really two issues here:
E-bikes ridden in an unsafe manner
Electric motorcycles designed for off-road use being ridden on our streets They require different responses.
Off-road electric motorcycles, like Sur-Rons and others are simply not legal on the street and the riders should be ticketed for illegally operating an off-road vehicle on public streets.
Laws already exist for this purpose and should be utilized. If someone modifies an e-bike to generate more power than 750W or to continue to assist at speeds over 28 mph, then it’s no longer an e-bike and falls into this same category. 09/16/2025
22 (25-711)
E-bikes ridden irresponsibly require different treatment. Laws already exist covering exhibitionistic driving and are equally applicable to bicycles as they are to automobiles.
Wheelies, running signals and stop sign, riding on the wrong side of the road are already covered – they simply need to be enforced.
I would recommend stronger enforcement with some officer discretion and something like traffic school for first-time or infrequent offenders.
While your recommended actions are well-intentioned, they also show that you really don’t ride yourselves and don’t really know the realities that cyclist face.
For example, when there is no bicycle lane, the cyclist is faced with the choice of riding in the automobile lane or on a sidewalk. Many riders choose the sidewalk out of self- preservation. I encourage you to try riding on streets with no bicycle lane to experience that choice.
BTW: One alternative part of the solution would be to direct HBPD to enforce the state law that requires automobiles to give cyclists three feet of clearance when passing. This law is violated constantly, and I have never seen a single driver warned or cited for the violation.
Taking your items in Section A in order, many people ride specifically to do shopping, and by excluding them from sidewalks in business districts, you are making that use significantly more difficult.
Parents often choose to ride with their student to school, and often take younger children on the sidewalk. Prohibiting this within 100’ of a school makes that significantly more challenging.
When stopped at an intersection, to press the cycle crossing button, a cyclist usually has to be in the crosswalk, and their first 10-15’ starting up will likely still be in that crosswalk, so how are they to comply?
Sidewalks are inherently bi-directional – they don’t have a “normal flow of traffic”, so how is a cyclist to comply with this idea?
Section B is much better. There is a hierarchy of right-of-way in shared use environments:
Horses
Pedestrians
Cyclists
I am willing to bet that very few people know that complete hierarchy, so education is important.
Item B2 is also good – using a horn or bell from some distance back and even telling the pedestrian on which side you will pass are best practices, as well as giving as much clearance as possible. Please note that many pedestrians walk with headphones on, which can make notification difficult. Suggesting open air headphones or a setting that allow ambient sound are best practices, as is educating pedestrians to understand that hearing a bell means a cyclist is approaching.
Above all, I suggest you get out and ride yourself to truly understand what the cycling experience is like. Once you’ve had to deal with a disappearing bike land that forces you to merge with 4000 lb. vehicles travelling 50 mph with little or no notice, you might have more sympathy for cyclists that take to the sidewalk. When they do, it is important that they yield properly to pedestrians.
Finally, cities all over the county are passing ordinances willy-nilly to give their citizens the appearance that they are tackling e-bikes. The result is a hodgepodge of laws that change from city to city, leaving cyclists guessing what’s legal in what jurisdiction. Do you think automobile drivers would put up with that kind of chaos? Certainly not, so why should cyclists?
David Rynerson
Huntington Beach, CA
Mr. Amory Hanson 8102 Ellis Avenue Apartment 121 Huntington Beach CA 92646 September 16, 2025
The Mayor Of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street Huntington Beach CA 92648 My Dear Mister Mayor, I would like to express my support for Item XXII, Councilmen McKeon and Vandermark’s item to adopt an electronic
bicycle
ordinance.
Sincerely Yours, Mr. Amory Hanson CC: The Honorable Casey McKeon CC: The Honorable Andrew Gruel CC:The Honorable Donald C. Kennedy CC: The Honorable E. M. Twining CC: The Honorable Grace Vandermark CC: The Honorable Chad Williams