Ludlow city council discussed the need for a potential ordinance after members described issues they have personally observed with e‑bikes and e‑scooters at last week’s meeting.
Mayor Sarah Thompson said she wanted to bring up concerns, and that city attorneys Michelle Eviston and Zach Smith are currently working on this.
Thompson said that it is concerning because some of these e-bike and e-scooter operators are not wearing helmets. She noted that there was an accident on Kenner and Elm Street two months ago in which a juvenile on an e-bike collided with a vehicle, who had the green light, on Elm Street.
“I’ve seen them flying down Elm Street in the business district. I’ve seen, I saw, I watched a child cross Kenner Street on a green light and didn’t even stop to look to see if there’s a car coming,” Thompson said. “Elm Street vehicle had the green light, but the bike (e-bike) went through the red light,” Thompson said.
The vehicle owner swerved, but Thompson said that the impact could have been much worse.
There are pedestrian laws currently in Ludlow: An ordinance regarding bicycles was passed around 1996, according to council. Under the current local law, bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks in Ludlow.
Thompson and Council Member Paula Graszus agreed that they have also seen adults operating e-bikes and e-scooters.
City council noted that other cities are confronting the same challenges, and that responses vary widely. They have reviewed Boone County and Fort Thomas ordinances.
Some other municipalities are exploring forms of parental responsibility, while others have added general provisions reminding residents to follow existing regulations. A few jurisdictions are pursuing civil or even federal enforcement mechanisms, including penalties that rise to a misdemeanor.
Council members also discussed the need to clearly define and distinguish different types of e‑bikes and e‑scooters, and to determine whether certain classes should be permitted in city parks.
“Everybody’s having the same issues with them. If it was easy, it would already be solved. So, there’s no license plates or anything like that,” Police Chief Bart Beck said. Beck also said that there is not a lot the Ludlow police can do when it comes to children and their penalty surrounding this issue.
Thompson recommended to council the option of e-bike and e-scooter operators registering their e-bikes and e-scooters with the city of Ludlow and paying a small fee.
Beck said that the Ludlow police department made numerous Facebook posts about this topic, even before the incident with the juvenile on an e-bike that collided with a vehicle on Kenner and Elm Street and before Captain Greg Eastham’s retirement from the police department.
“We’ve made numerous posts right before Captain Eastham retired,” Beck said. “He specifically sent out an email to enforce the bicyclist rules and stuff like that. I don’t know what the solution is.
The Ludlow City Council is set to discuss this again at the next city council meeting on August 27 at the Ludlow Municipal Center on Elm Street at 7 p.m., The meeting is open to the public.
