We need to talk about e-bikes and e-scooters. The City of Alameda encourages active transportation—walking, biking, and using public transportation—to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that cause global warming and sea level rise, and for health benefits.
Transportation, primarily on-road travel, is the single largest source of GHGs in California, according to the California Air Resources Board. The City’s ambitious Climate Action Resiliency Plan (CARP) has set targets, in line with the State and scientific community, to reduce GHGs 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, and become carbon neutral by 2045. We support these objectives by building more bicycle infrastructure every year, including the recently completed Clement Avenue cycle track and improvements currently underway on Central Avenue.
I often urge parents to let their children—especially high school and middle school students—get themselves to school by walking, riding a bike or scooter, or taking public transportation. Lately, I’ve heard from parents, including those who ride their bikes to school with their elementary school children, that close encounters with e-bikes and e-scooters have made their bicycle commutes feel unsafe.
As a longtime cyclist who has ridden a borrowed e-bike in the last three 4th of July Parades (thank you, Alameda Bicycle!), I have enjoyed the extra boost an e-bike can provide. E-bikes also provide active mobility for those who find pedaling a standard bike challenging. However, the growth in popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters has outpaced education and understanding about their safe operation, so I asked the Alameda Police Department (APD) for safety tips. Huge thanks to Captain Jeff Emmitt and Sergeant Frank Petersen for the following input!…