Growing popularity of e-bikes on local trails leads to questions about regulation

Perhaps inevitably, that combination is leading to questions about whether these sorts of vehicles should be allowed on bike paths and trails alongside other bicyclists, walkers and runners.

An e-bike is a bicycle with operable pedals that also has an electric motor. New York State law allows riders to operate e-bikes on some streets without a license or registration, but municipalities have the power to further regulate e-bike usage on trails and in parks.

Not all e-bikes are the same. There are three general classes:

Class 1 e-bikes have a motor that provides an assist only when the cyclist is pedaling. The motor cuts off when the bike reaches 20 mph.

Class 2 e-bikes have a motor that can propel the bike even when the rider is not pedaling. The motor on these bikes also cuts off when the bike reaches 20 mph.

Class 3 e-bikes also have a motor that will propel the bike without pedaling, but these bikes have a maximum speed of 28 mph before the motor cuts off.

“It’s hard to paint them all with the same brush,” said Kevin Heffernan, communications director for GOBike, an organization that promotes bicycling to build more active and sustainable communities.

The Town of Tonawanda prohibits motor vehicles on its 4-mile Rails to Trails walking and bike path. But e-bikes are kind of a gray area in that rule, said Town of Tonawanda Councilman Carl Szarek, who chairs the town’s Youth, Parks and Recreation Committee.

When the Rails to Trails path first opened in Tonawanda, e-bikes were not as popular as they are now in Western New York, so they weren’t really a consideration when the town was setting rules for the trail, Szarek said.

But now, as more and more people ride e-bikes, the town is “keeping a close eye” on e-bike usage on the trails to see if it becomes an issue, he said. There have been e-bike riders…