Columbia Falls passes law restricting e-bikes, e-motorcycles and their like

The Columbia Falls City Council Monday night passed a new law that will try to put the clamps on e-motorcycles and e-bikes speeding on city streets and bike paths.

Council passed the law after tweaking the language of the ordinance a bit to allow e-bikes on city paths and sidewalks as long as they’re under human power. 

The law now reads, in part, “A bicycle,(as defined by Montana Law) a moped, motorized scooter, skateboard, or any other wheeled device, whether electrically or motor assisted or not, may be operated or ridden  on and along a public sidewalk, public path, or within a public park only under human propulsion and may not be operated on or along such sidewalks, paths, or within such parks if the bicycle, scooter, skateboard or other wheeled device is solely under power from an independent power source.” 

That would exclude all e-motorcycles and scooters from city sidewalks and paths and if you’re riding an e-bike and coasting uphill, like many folks are apt to do, you’d be in violation. 

The law also requires that people under age 18 wear a helmet, regardless of whether the bike is human or electrically powered. 

It also requires people to obey all traffic laws and the speed limit. 

Council initially tabled the law after one resident claimed the first draft was discriminatory toward e-bike users, even though that wasn’t the intent. 

The law becomes effective in 30 days, when it is published in the city’s ordinances. 

The city was bound to do something, particularly after a 16-year-old rider struck a car near Park Side Credit Union on Highway 2 earlier this year while going down the sidewalk at about 40 mph. The young man was impaled into the windshield of the car and was injured. It may have been worse, but he was wearing a helmet at the time. 

One e-motorcyclist told the Hungry Horse News he had modified his bike so it would go 50 mph and police said some can go as much as 90 mph.

The law comes with penalties as well. The first violation may result in a $50 fine, a mandatory and applicable course of education, and, if the person is younger than 18 years of age, parental notification; a second violation is a $100 fine and the above-mentioned parental notification and the third violation a $175 fine, impoundment of vehicle upon which the violation occurred for a period not less than 60 days or more than 90 days, and community service.

The law excludes devices like electric wheelchairs.

Mayor Don Barnhart was appreciative of the new law and predicted other cities would model their e-bike and e-motorcycles after the Columbia Falls ordinance.