Alexandria officials are considering an overhaul of the city’s rules governing electric bikes and scooters as they become a more common sight on streets and sidewalks.
The city council heard the first reading of the ordinance at its Aug. 6 meeting but did not take any vote. The proposal reflects how transportation technology has changed and attempts to address devices that existing city rules may not adequately cover.
Alexandria joins other Northern Kentucky municipalities like Fort Thomas, Florence, Union and Fort Mitchell in discussions on regulating e-bikes and e-scooters.
“They’re very popular,” said Alexandria City Attorney Mike Duncan. “Some go faster than others. Some are suitable for sidewalks and walking paths. Some aren’t.”
Officials said the ordinance has been reviewed by the city’s safety committee. The proposal replaces portions of older city code with language intended to account for newer types of transportation.
“It is very long and detailed,” Duncan said. “We’re getting rid of a lot of language and replacing it with more modern language that recognizes the devices that are very popular now.”
One concern raised during the brief discussion was how the regulations would work in practice, particularly when it comes to enforcement.
“I think the hard part is going to be enforcement,” Alexandria Councilmember Stacey Graus said. “Now our city police have to not only watch cars on the road, but everybody. You didn’t usually have to watch pedestrians, but now you’ve got to watch all the sidewalks.”
Officials emphasized that the purpose of the ordinance is not necessarily to issue tickets to every rider who violates the ordinance. The ordinance did suggest fines of $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second and $200 for subsequent violations; however, Duncan said the proposal encourages education as an alternative to citations in some circumstances.
“Just like any other ordinance that we have, we want compliance with the ordinance,” Duncan said. “We don’t want their money.”
Council member Tom Baldridge, a member of the city’s safety committee, said the goal was to give police and other city officials a way to encourage compliance, including requirements such as wearing helmets.
Council members acknowledged that the city may need to revisit the rules after seeing how they work in real-world situations.
“I think you guys did a great job on it,” Graus said. “I think we’ll have to watch how it plays out in practice, because you may wind up [finding] one of these is more of a problem than another.”
The ordinance is expected to return to the council for a second reading and further consideration before a vote on adoption.
