San Clemente Plans to Ban E-Bikes

SAN CLEMENTE—On Dec 21, the San Clemente City Council met to discuss putting a ban on e-bikes in designated areas of the city. San Clemente officials are looking for more control over e-bikes on beach paths, streets, trails, sand, and the pier. The city has struggled to organize the influx of fast-moving electric bikes as they continue to rise in popularity. City officials are writing laws to reflect stricter rules prohibiting e-bikes on the beach trail, which spans the city’s coast and banning electronic bikes from the beach and pier. The City Council also opted to add further inland trails to the list of areas that would be banned. The decision to modify the regulations on e-bikes is not a new idea as resident complaints about unruly behavior flood the city’s inbox. In February, the City Council chose to do an “educational blitz” instead of entirely banning e-bikes at heavily trafficked spots throughout the city, which provided information on bike safety and the rules of the road when on an e-bike. In addition, the city developed a “bike rodeo” in conjunction with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. It was a free event to promote bike safety, which included e-bike rules of the road. The change to city ordinances will need to return to City Council for final approval before the attempt to make the proposal a law in 2022.