The Redmond City Council took its first stab at curbing unruly e-bikes in parks by passing an ordinance April 28 banning “motorcycles” from City parks.
The new rule, which passed unanimously, defines motorcycles as an electric or motorized two-wheeled vehicle without pedals. Anyone who uses one in a Redmond park will now be subject to a Class B violation and a $250 fine.
City officials hope the ban will deter speeding e-bike riders that have spurred a string of complaints in recent months, particularly in Redmond’s Dry Canyon, a 3-mile natural park with a paved path running through the city. At an April 7 public hearing, a handful of residents testified some speeding e-bikes were endangering public safety and sensitive natural landscapes.
Targeting “motorcycles” rather than specific e-bike classifications will make the ordinance easier to enforce without prohibiting e-bikes altogether, officials said.
“It’s a starting point we hope will make a significant difference, but if it doesn’t, we have an opportunity to open the code back up and draft something different that might still be enforceable but solve more problems,” Redmond City Attorney Keith Leitz told the Source.
The City launched a poll in March asking the public whether it should ban “throttle-assisted” e-bikes from parks. The results were split, with 1,068 supporting such a ban, according to Leitz.
Redmond police told the Redmond City Council it would be nearly impossible to enforce an ordinance banning certain classifications of e-bikes and not others. A bill passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2024 puts e-bikes into three classifications: Class 1, bikes where an electric motor is activated by pedaling up to 20 miles per hour; Class 2, bikes where the motor is activated either by pedaling or with a throttle up to 20 miles per hour; and Class 3, bikes where pedaling activates the motor up to 28 miles per hour.
All three classifications of e-bikes with pedals, even those with throttles, are still legal in Redmond parks.
It would, however, outlaw the increasingly popular “dirt e-bikes” that function more like a small motorcycle with electric power than a bicycle. The Bend Police launched an education campaign last year warning about the bikes, which are not street legal.
During deliberations on April 7, Redmond city councilors were hesitant to move forward with banning e-bikes from parks, citing concerns about enforceability and a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities who use e-bikes and other mobility devices to access parks.
Councilor John Nielsen asked if there was a way to clamp down on reckless e-bike behavior without tying it to specific vehicles.
“We seem to be trying to regulate an object versus a behavior,” Nielsen said April 7. “I think the behavior is the problem.”
Because many of the complaints seem to revolve around kids and teenagers, school-based police officers will begin educating students about the new ordinance, and the City is working on adding park signage about e-bikes, Leitz said.
Once the school year ends, school and community officers will be able to increase enforcement in parks, Leitz said.
Councilor Jay Patrick lauded the new policy as the City passed the ordinance April 28.
“We’re strengthening the code … I really appreciate that,” Patrick said. “The patrols we’re going to have, and the signs and education, it’s all well-handled, I think.”
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