Covington Mayor Ron Washington has directed city staff to investigate possibly implementing additional safety protocols and regulations of e-bikes and scooters, especially in and around school zones.
Washington stated at this week’s meeting of the Covington Board of Commissioners that the idea was broached to him by Covington School Board Member and former City Commissioner Michelle Williams.
“She expressed the need for additional safety measures in these areas and her fear that an accident could occur,” Washington said. “While I know that we will never be able to prevent every accident, I believe there are some things that we can do to strengthen our already existing rules relating to e-scooters and e-bikes.”
E-bike and e-scooter safety has been a recurring topic in the region of late as their use has increased. Several cities have already begun implementing stricter controls on the vehicles in the face of safety concerns.
Washington made a motion, which the rest of the commissioners in attendance voted in favor of, to direct the city manager with the help of the police department to do the following actions:
- Identify streets adjacent to schools zones where riders would be required to dismount and walk their vehicles
- Develop a framework for implementing these new “designated exclusion zones,” as the mayor called them
- Furnish a report documenting e-bike and e-scooter “collisions, complaints, unsafe riding behavior and other reported interactions” in the city, especially in school zones, over the past six months
- Return to the Board of Commissioners with recommended ordinance and policy changes
- Develop a safety seminar with the help of the city’s External Affairs Department for riders to learn about safe riding practices
No new policies about e-bikes were enshrined in law at the meeting.
