Redmond May Ban Throttle-Powered E-bikes from City Parks

The City of Redmond may be the latest government body to clamp down on e-bikes, with new regulations stirred by a stream of complaints over speeders in City parks.

The City Council launched a survey March 24 asking the public whether throttle-propelled bicycles should be banned from City parks. Results of the two-week survey will inform an April discussion that could lead to new rules in place by summer. But questions remain about where the City will draw the line and whether enforcing the ban would even be possible.

Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch said at a March 16 meeting that e-bikes may be the second-most frequent complaint the City receives.

“It’s a lot of people,” he said.

Redmond’s foray into e-bike regulation comes as some governments and agencies wrestle with a sort of e-bike wild west, fueled by new technologies giving the machines capabilities closer to a motorcycle than a typical bicycle. In 2024 the Oregon legislature rolled out a classification system for different levels of e-bikes and made them illegal for anyone under the age of 16 — legislation stirred by the traffic death of a 15-year-old riding an e-bike along U.S. Highway 20 in Bend. A bill passed earlier this month lowered the legal age to 14 for Class 1 e-bikes, those with a motor that assists pedaling up to 20 miles per hour.

As defined by the state, Class 2 e-bikes provide motor assistance using a throttle up to 20 miles per hour and pedaling isn’t required. Class 3 e-bikes provide pedaling assistance up to 28 miles per hour.

The U.S. Forest Service announced in December it would begin allowing Class 1 e-bikes on forest trails, drawing both dismay and jubilation from the mountain biking community. The rules go into effect April 1.

Redmond Police Chief Devin Lewis recommended a ban on all types of e-bikes in Redmond parks, calling it the “best avenue for community safety,” although he said he couldn’t point to data about e-bike crashes in parks.

“There’s different classes where ones with pedals can still go pretty damn fast, faster than what we want to see in the parks,” Lewis said.

A particular area of concern for the city is Dry Canyon, a 3.7-mile long High Desert canyon park with a multi-use path running through the center of Redmond. Motor vehicles aren’t allowed, but “mobility devices” such as wheelchairs, roller blades and skateboards are, according to a City of Redmond website. That also includes e-bikes, which are popular among teenagers.

“People don’t enjoy the park when you’re dodging other people’s (children) going 35 on an e-bike,” said Councilor Cat Zwicker during the March 16 discussion.

At the same time, she expressed concern that regulating e-bikes in parks might affect people with disabilities who rely on them for recreation or transportation.

Joanie Krehbiel is the owner of Wheel Fun Rentals, a company that rents pedal-assist e-bikes in Bend’s Old Mill District, Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, and elsewhere. Krehbiel said she would rather see people riding e-bikes on park paths because it’s usually safer than the roadway. But no matter how the e-bike is propelled, the motor makes it easy — even for inexperienced riders or teenagers — to reach unsafe speeds, she said.

“I think the issue on the bike paths is speed, whether it’s Bend or Redmond or anywhere, rather than how you’re getting that speed,” Krehbiel told the Source.

The challenge of enforcement

Banning throttle-powered bikes from parks would bring Redmond in line with the Bend Park & Recreation District, which created that policy for Bend parks last summer. District Spokesperson Julie Brown told the Source the ban is not based on the type or classification of e-bike, but rather, how the bike is being used. For example, a rider on the Deschutes River Trail using only the pedal-assist function of an e-bike that also has a throttle would not be in violation.

Enforcing the rules to that level of detail is difficult. Brown said the district focuses on education and voluntary compliance, and a small number of park stewards — staff who encourage rule-following — could remove e-bike riders who use throttles, but only as a “last resort.”

“Enforcement is always going to be a challenge, I think for any entity when it comes to e-bike use,” Brown said.

Lewis, the Redmond police chief, told the City Council that banning all types of e-bikes is “realistically” the only way to enforce regulations.

At the March 16 meeting, Redmond City Councilor John Nielsen said a new e-bike ordinance that’s difficult to enforce is not the answer to safety issues.

“What we’re trying to regulate is people being jerks on bikes,” Neilsen said. “You can be a jerk on a pedal bike, too.”

The Redmond City Council will likely discuss e-bikes at its April 7 meeting.