Wichita suburb considers placing restrictions on e-bikes, e-scooters

Right now, kids and teenagers in Valley Center can ride their e-bikes or e-scooters anywhere a regular bicycle or scooter is allowed to go.

But that could change.

The Valley Center City Council has asked Public Safety Director and Police Chief Lloyd Newman to craft wording for possible city ordinances that would place certain requirements on the use of electronic bikes and scooters. Rose Hill and Cheney are among the Kansas cities that already have such rules in place.

“(Residents are) concerned because a lot of these are being ridden on the sidewalks,” Newman said in a phone interview with The Eagle. “Apparently, there’s been some close calls with pedestrians. There haven’t been any accidents that I’m aware of, but they are kind of scared.”

Newman said he will create drafts of two ordinances. One will require helmets for certain ages and the other will likely seek to prohibit the use of e-bikes or e-scooters on the sidewalks in the 100 and 200 blocks of West Main, the 100 block of North and South Park, and the 100 block of North Ash, among other things. The ages helmets would be required and whether that would be for all bikes and scooters or e-bikes and e-scooters only would be a City Council decision, Newman said.

The ordinances are likely to be presented at the July 21 or Aug. 4 City Council meetings.

Currently, e-bikes and e-scooters can be used in Valley Center anywhere that regular bicycles are allowed unless there is a sign prohibiting their use, like there is in Valley Center’s parks.

Valley Center’s safety concerns and attempts to establish some guidelines are not unique. The exact number of municipalities in Kansas that have similar ordinances was not immediately known, but the police chiefs in Rose Hill and Cheney confirmed their towns have ordinances regulating the use of e-bikes and e-scooters.

Rose Hill amended its traffic ordinance last September to include wording for what it calls “micromobility devices,” according to a copy of the ordinance reviewed by The Eagle.

Micromobility devices include but are not limited to bicycles, scooters, minibikes, two-wheeled caster boards, e-scooters, e-bikes, hoverboards and skateboards. The regulation addresses maximum speed, nighttime use and helmet requirements and requires that bikes and e-bikes stay off sidewalks, among other things.

“What we tried to focus on is, ‘This isn’t about us parenting your children,’” said Taylor Parlier, chief of the Rose Hill Police Department, during a phone interview. “It’s quite literally about keeping your children safe. We just tried to strike a balance. It’s something that really brought out some strong feelings when we first started talking about it.”

Perhaps the most controversial part of the ordinance is the requirement for a helmet for those 13 and under, Parlier said.

“We weren’t trying to create a nanny state and dictate how everything must happen,” he said. “We were just trying to make sure the children were as safe as possible while being outside and still having fun.”

Parlier said some parents get upset when an officer stops their 15-year-old for not wearing a helmet, but he says he will take that kind of tongue lashing in return for keeping someone safe.

Cheney’s ordinance highlights the prohibition of e-bikes on sidewalks in its business district and requires a front lamp on e-bikes and e-scooters used between sunset and sunrise, among other things.

“To be honest, it has taken some effort for me and my officers to let citizens know what they can and can’t do,” said Cheney Police Chief Ken Winter, in a phone interview with The Eagle. “I know some parents get irritated about it. We haven’t written any tickets, but we have had several conversations with parents and kids.”