Fort Mitchell residents came to this week’s meeting with questions about whether the city is planning to regulate e-bikes and e-scooters.
Battery‑powered wheelchairs, scooters, and e‑bikes, one resident said, have completely reshaped how people move around and interact in the city, and that this shift has become a significant challenge.
“This is still in the works, and we do not have a timeline in place yet,” Mayor Greg Pohlgeers said.
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At a June meeting, Pohlgeers said there have been multiple complaints about e-bikes on city sidewalks. He also said there are different classifications of scooters and e-bikes that make banning them completely difficult to navigate.
“Class 1 does not have a throttle and will go up to 20 miles per hour,” he said at that meeting. “Class 2 e-bikes do have a throttle and go up to 20 miles per hour. Class 3 e-bikes have a throttle and go to at least 28 miles per hour.”
Pohlgeers said he is in favor of banning Class 3 e-bikes on city sidewalks, while noting more research is needed.
Pohlgeers said the issue with e‑bikes is that cities in Kentucky can’t simply prohibit them, because state law classifies these devices as bicycles.
Kentucky’s primary law governing bicycles — and, in practice, e‑bikes — on public roads is KRS 189.287, which gives the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet authority to establish bicycle equipment and safety standards. Using that authority, the Cabinet adopted 601 KAR 14:020, the statewide bicycle‑safety regulation.
Because Kentucky law does not create a separate definition or class system for e‑bikes, the state treats electric bicycles the same as traditional bicycles under this regulation.
Bicycles are permitted on sidewalks under state law, but riders must slow to ordinary walking speed whenever pedestrians are present or can reasonably be expected nearby.
Pohlgeers said there has been extensive discussion on how to regulate e‑bikes and e‑scooters, noting that officials are reviewing two recently passed Indiana ordinances as a strong blueprint for local policy. He added that Fort Mitchell currently has no ordinances on e‑bikes or e‑scooters, and confirmed that drafting one is already underway.
Kentucky statute sets an age limit for e-scooters at 16.
It also requires electric low-speed scooters to be equipped and have illuminated at least one headlamp and at least one rear red light when operated half an hour after sunset and before sunrise or during conditions where visibility is low. E-scooters may also be parked on a sidewalk that does not impede reasonable movement from traffic.
