San Clemente is banning electric bikes from its beach trail and beaches, but officials stopped short of expanding limitation to inland trails.
The City Council’s decision this week comes after a year of discussing how to better control e-bike chaos on the popular beach path as the city grapples with the influx of the faster-moving bicycles in recent years.
Electric bikes allow people to travel further distances and get places faster. But there can be a downside, including careless riders who zip past pedestrians on tight trails and sidewalks, a problem the city is trying to crack down on with its new rules.
The council did decide to ban all bikes from the Corto Lane area, a thin stretch of the beach trail that spans about 300 yards from the base of the pier.
Speakers at the meeting Tuesday, Jan. 18, were mixed about e-bike use in the city, some saying the problems on the beach trail don’t exist on inland trails, which allows older riders to get out to exercise or gives access to more of the city.
Speaker Susan Ambrose supported the prohibition of e-bikes on the beach and beach trail, saying it comes down to public safety.
“Nobody anticipated it would be so popular in San Clemente, in particular on the beach trail,” she said. “I think the community would feel much safer without electric bikes on the coastal trail.”
She and others wondered if requiring a license plate and registration might help. City staffers said it would be challenging, but they would get feedback from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department prior to the city’s next “bike rodeo,” a bike safety program held each year.
Another speaker talked about riding her e-bike on the beach trail for about 10 years, and wondered if they could be allowed at specific times of the day or during slower seasons.
“I just hope we can come up with some sort of compromise,” she said, noting that more has to be done about young riders breaking the rules.
Councilwoman Laura Ferguson said since the discussion at the previous meeting about banning the bikes on the inland trails, she heard from several neighbors and residents who were not happy about the inclusion of city trails.
“I’m on the trails at least five days a week, (and) I observed on my balcony over the weekend,” she said, noting she saw one biker. “There’s no problem. Why have a law addressing a non-problem? The e-bikes have really just renewed (people’s) interest in exercising and getting outdoors.”
Councilwoman Kathy Ward noted that rules against motorized bikes already exist and e-bikes should fall into that category.
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“It has a motor, it’s an electric motor,” she said, noting there’s been several accidents on the trails. “The blurring of lines for what is a motorcycle and electric bike is a problem.”
There is an overall issue of e-bike safety, Councilman Gene James said.
“It comes down to bad behavior,” he said. “In most cases, there’s a lack of parenting going on.”
A surge in e-bike accidents and injuries in the past year has prompted hospitals, police agencies and city halls throughout Southern California to beef up community outreach to educate riders about the need for safety when riding the bikes that can reach up to 20 mph or even 30 mph.
According to Mission Hospital statistics, there were six pediatric e-bike injuries in 2020. In 2021, the hospital counted 38 during the first 10 months through October.
Adult injuries were not tracked in 2020, but in 2021 there were 63 trauma injuries by October. There were also two deaths in recent months, both adults, one wearing a helmet and another without.
Mission Hospital has been doing educational outreach on riding safety, including teaming with local law enforcement and having giveaways of helmets monthly targeting young riders.