Central Oregon loves bicycles. Bikes give people a sense of freedom and independence, and with the growing necessity of environment-friendly transportation, the popularity of bicycles and bike riding is booming. The benefits are numerous and include reduced CO2 emissions and air/noise pollution, savings on fuel costs, less congestion on roadways and saving of construction and maintenance costs of road infrastructure. And let’s not forget the positive physical and spiritual outcomes associated with pedaling a bike.
But while the high desert has long been filled with bicycle aficionados, in the past few years a cycling revolution of sorts has begun to gain traction worldwide: e-bikes. How much traction, you ask? According to Precedence Research, the global e-bike market size surpassed $18 billion in 2022 and is predicted to grow to nearly $41 billion by 2030. That’s Billion with a B.
Electric assist bicycles (e-bikes) come in myriad versions, from the off-road mountain bike and gravel steeds, to the urban commuter and kid hauler. Most require the rider to pedal in order to get the “E” boost; but not all. The definitions of what is and is not an e-bike are wrought with confusion and sometimes controversy, and although there is not an official designation, the e-bike industry uses the following classification system:
Class 1: Pedal-assist only; motor provides (up to 1,000 watts) assistance up to 20 mph.
Class 2: Pedal-assist or throttle; motor provides (up to 1,000 watts) assistance up to 20 mph.
Class 3: Pedal assist only; motor provides (up to 1,000 watts) assistance up to 28 mph.
“They open up many options for people to travel and explore, but there have been increased concerns and complaints here at the PD regarding (their) usage.” —Sheila Miller, Bend PD
In Oregon only Class 1 and 2 are allowed on roadways. Although street-legal electric motorcycles exist, popular mini-motorbikes (no pedals) made by companies including Surron, Freego and Razor are not street legal and are designed for off road use only. Oregon also has a helmet law for both bicycles and motorcycles. Everyone traveling on a roadway on a motorcycle in Oregon is required to wear a helmet, and for bicycles, any rider under 16 is also required to don a potentially brain-saving device. (Editor’s note: The print edition stated “16 and under,” but that was incorrect and we’ve corrected this line.)
Police complaints
On local paved streets, paths and sidewalks, a conflict is rising exponentially. Sheila Miller, communications manager for Bend Police Department, says e-bikes are great for the community, but they do come with challenges around what’s allowed and by whom.
“They open up many options for people to travel and explore, but there have been increased concerns and complaints here at the PD regarding (their) usage.” Miller explains that the majority of complaints center around younger kids riding them to school, riding on sidewalks, going against traffic and not wearing helmets. This month, a 15-year-old Bend teen died after being hit by a car while riding an e-bike. The teen and his passenger were not wearing helmets and were riding on the sidewalk, attempting to cross a street that intersects with Highway 20 in east Bend, police said. The driver was not cited.
Deaths among child pedestrians have risen 11% since 2013, affecting more children ages 10-14 and teens ages 15-19, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Black and American Indian young people aged 19 and younger are 1.8 times more likely to die in pedestrian incidents than white children, according to AAP.
Elsewhere in Bend, elderly walkers told the Source Weekly that they’re no longer comfortable walking along the Deschutes River Trail near the Old Mill in Bend due to the high number of speeding e-bikes on the path.
Complaints about e-bike use in the city “have spiked from one email a month to about 20 in the last couple months. And (in response) to the increase, the department launched an educational campaign via social media,” said Miller. “Anecdotally, we see an increase (mainly) on the west side and downtown in particular. We get e-bike and vehicle clashes, because generally the bike is traveling quicker than expected or are riding erratically and not as would be expected,” Miller told the Source Weekly.
“The key to keeping kids, and all of us, safe is good infrastructure.” —Anthony Broadman
With a lean-running department, Bend PD responds to hundreds of calls for service each day, and bike related issues just tend to be a lower priority. “I think that most people understand the laws, and we don’t want to be (just) handing out tickets, so we are working on compliance,” said Miller. “Our Command staff and Community Service officers are committed to increasing their enforcement and education details in the coming weeks, especially around Drake and Columbia parks and Miller’s Landing,” she said.
City bike infrastructure
For years the City of Bend has been working on better cycling infrastructure, with plans that include more bike lanes, multi-user paths and designated safe routes. Bend City Councilor Anthony Broadman is an avid cyclist and safety advocate who regularly rides an e-bike.
“The key to keeping kids, and all of us, safe is good infrastructure,” Broadman told the Source Weekly.
Just this month, for the first time since 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement on child pedestrian safety which supports Broadman’s claim.
“The reminder to ‘Look both ways before you cross the street,’ is good advice, but just part of the equation,” said Sadiqa A. I. Kendi, MD, MPH, FAAP, CPST, co-author of the Academy’s policy statement, written by the AAP Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. “Research tells us that an even more effective way to consistently improve safety is when communities take intentional steps to create pedestrian-safe environments. We live in a busy, distracted world, and when local leaders create walkable spaces, they also enhance the appeal and vibrance of their communities.”
Among its recommendations, AAP advocated for reducing speed limits in urban areas, developing more safe routes to school, advocating for more pedestrian infrastructure and providing more information to parents and families so they can educate their children on safety.
“I ran for Council to build the Bend Bikeway and the Hawthorne Bridge, and those are the lynchpins of crosstown transportation safety for everyone — cars, bikes wheelchairs, everyone,” Broadman said. “The best thing that we can do with the finite City resources we have is to focus on meaningful improvements to infrastructure.”
In a report published in 2019, researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of New Mexico found that cities that had protected and separated bike lanes had 44 percent fewer deaths than the average city among all road users – not just pedestrians or cyclists.
“Despite bicycling being considered 10 times more dangerous than driving, the evidence suggests that high-bicycling-mode-share cities are not only safer for bicyclists but for all road users,” the report’s introduction stated. “The results suggest that more bicyclists is not the reason these cities are safer for all road users. Better safety outcomes are instead associated with a greater prevalence of bike facilities – particularly protected and separated bike facilities – at the block group level and, more strongly so, across the overall city.”
Following the death of the teen this month, councilors also put out a call for ideas to help them plan an educational event where parents and other community members could come and learn about the ins and outs of e-bike safety.
Supporting an active commute
Other educational messaging has been spearheaded by Commute Options, the nonprofit advocating for safe commuting alternatives in Bend. Executive Director Brian Potwin thinks that education is by far the best method to find balance.
“We have seen an increase in e-bike users, especially at the middle schools,” Scott Maben said. This past school year, “Principals were focused primarily on the education of parents.”
“Our Safe Routes program aims to increase access to alternative methods (of travel), with the goals of being safe, fun and convenient,” he said. Working directly with local school districts and promoting these concepts in the classroom, the program teaches safety and rules of the road for students K-12. Other programming in support of the cause includes Walking School Buses, where school groups are led by adults to and from schools, suggesting walk and rolling routes as viable options. Commute Options also offers a helpful introduction to e-bike safety on its website.
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LISTEN: Commuting via Bike, Walk or Roll with Brian Potwin 🎧
At the school level, Scott Maben, communications director for Bend-La Pine Schools, says e-bike usage is, “Definitely a rising concern and community issue.” Currently the district is working on updating its transportation policy (which does not yet address underage riders on e-bikes) as well as communications and messaging at the school level.
“We have seen an increase in e-bike users, especially at the middle schools,” Maben said. This past school year, “Principals were focused primarily on the education of parents,” he said.
Until this month, there had not been a serious injury attributed to e-bikes in Bend and Central Oregon, but on the same day, two serious accidents led to the region’s first tragedy involving a motor vehicle and e-bike. On June 16, the same day as the deadly crash involving the teen e-bike rider, an adult rider was driving a mini-motorcycle that was not street legal in the bike lane on Reed Market Road and crashed into a car. The driver of the mini-motorcycle was seriously hurt, and was cited for operating a vehicle in the bike lane, misdemeanor driving while suspended and driving without insurance.
As we have just crossed into what may be the busiest summer in the history of the town, teams at City of Bend, Visit Bend, Commute Options, Bend PD and other organizations are working to spread the word on the growing issues, continue to build better infrastructure and educate more of the community on rules, regulations, protocol and proper usage of all classes of human powered and power-assist bikes.
With law and policy changes in their infancy, the potentially epidemic and proven tragic outcomes of e-bike accidents here in Central Oregon, requires a patient and focused community effort to build awareness for both the riders and drivers who share the roadways.
This article appears in Source Weekly June 29, 2023.
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A drivers/motorcycle license should be necessary to ride and e-bike and they should only be allowed in the street, not on sidewalks. Anyone breaking the current laws should already be cited.
The problem with e-bikes are that parents are supposed to be responsible and set rules for their children. The messaging here is that these children are entitled and think they are above the law. The second issue is that the Bend PD is not enforcing despite my multiple complaints given through serving on the Summit West NA. The superintendent and principals were also contacted about this and said they are taking the hands off approach. If a law is not enforced, then its not a law and people will break the law. On any given day at Pacific Crest Middle there are 22-30 e-bikes many with out helmets attached to the bikes and many children towing up to two other kids on them driving them irresponsibly. It is simply unacceptable. Its also unfortunate that it takes the death of a child for these departments and organizations to actually take notice. This has been a conversation on social media for two years now and SWNA received numerous complaints which I addressed through letters, phones calls and conversations with these organizations. Start handing out $200 tickets along with impoundment of bike for second offense and people will respond . Education in a not helping , enforcement will. There is no reason that a child can not ride a regular bicycle until they have a drivers license.
ALL BEND and VISITING drivers need a refresher on safety. As an e-bike rider who follows the Oregon rules, the car/truck entitled type driving has been TERRIFYING this year.
You also have to remember that the pre frontal cortex of a teenager is not fully developed and they are impulsive and feel invincible. Educating is great first step but the reality is its not working this far and they dont care that much because they are assuming the police dont care because of lack of enforcement , the school doesnt care for the same reason so why not. This is the reality of it.
I am always amazed at the idea that articles about e-bikes always mention they are such a good idea because these are booming to allow people to commute, use a bike instead of a car thereby reducing carbon footprint etc. This is a dream that is unrelated to the vast majority of e-bike riders. I say this a person who did not have a car until I was in my late twenties. I was a bike commuter until I had to drive 60 miles to my job when I car pooled. So there may be a few people who commute to work and school legally. These are not the people who are riding in the old Mill at high speed with passengers hanging off the back. I was walking there with 3 others and the e-bikes were going much to fast. One move to the right or left and it would have been disastrous. All of the people riding were capable of riding a non-motorized bike. The reason it is much safer to ride a manual bike in shared spaces is two fold: 1) you can stop much easier and in weaving around people you have to slow down. The mechanics are different. 2) you can not reach the speeds without a lot of work. Going 20 MPH is a lot of work on a manual bike. Also, the e-bikes are much heavier which means when you run into someone there is much more likely to be injury. These need to be in the road not on mixed use trails.