Balancing Safety and Mobility: E-Bike Policy Best Practices for the City of Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Charlotte City Council considers how to address growing safety concerns involving high-powered electric bikes and other electric devices, Sustain Charlotte today released a new report recommending a balanced approach that protects pedestrians while preserving e-bikes as an important transportation option.

The release comes just hours before the Charlotte City Council Safety Committee meets today to “discuss recommendations to address public safety issues associated with high-powered e-bikes (often driven by youth under the age of 16) traveling on sidewalks and roadways” and potentially vote on those recommendations.

The committee meeting will be held from 1:00–2:30 p.m. at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Room CH-14, 600 E. Fourth St., Charlotte.

Sustain Charlotte’s new report, Balancing Safety and Mobility: E-Bike Policy Best Practices for the City of Charlotte(opens in new tab), examines policies in peer communities and recommends that Charlotte focus its regulations on the speeds, behaviors, and devices that create actual safety risks rather than broadly restricting lawful e-bike use.

“Charlotte absolutely should take action to address reckless riding and high-powered devices that put pedestrians and other road users at risk,” said Meg Fencil, Director of Engagement and Impact at Sustain Charlotte. “But we can address those very real concerns without treating every person riding an e-bike as the problem. For many Charlotte residents who travel by bike, the sidewalk may be the only safe place available to them on streets that lack a safe, protected bike lane. We can protect pedestrians and preserve mobility for residents who bike at the same time.”

The report recommends that Charlotte:

• Allow Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes on sidewalks at safe, context-sensitive speeds, with pedestrians receiving priority, riders slowing when passing, and designated dismount zones used where conditions warrant.
• Generally prohibit motor-assisted Class 3 e-bike operation on sidewalks, while allowing riders to walk their bicycles and providing narrowly tailored exceptions where appropriate.
• Clearly distinguish legal e-bikes from high-powered e-motos and other noncompliant devices that exceed legal power, pedal or assisted-speed limits.
• Prohibit dangerous behavior regardless of device type, including reckless speeds, weaving, unsafe passing, racing, wheelies and stunts that create hazards.
• Address youth safety through education as well as enforcement, including helmets, parent notification and a safety-course option for minor first offenses, while reserving stronger penalties for repeated or serious violations.
• Pair regulation with safer infrastructure, including protected bikeways and traffic calming, along with retailer and parent education and a review of the policy after one year.

A key distinction in the report is between lawful e-bikes and higher-powered electric motorcycles or “e-motos.” Beginning Dec. 1, a new North Carolina law will formally establish three classes of e-bikes. Class 1 and Class 2 bikes provide electric assistance only up to 20 mph, while Class 3 bikes provide pedal assistance up to 28 mph. Devices that exceed the legal limits or lack operable pedals may fall outside the legal definition of an e-bike altogether.

The new state law also expressly gives cities authority to regulate which e-bike classes may operate on sidewalks and multiuse paths and to establish speed restrictions, creating an opportunity for Charlotte to develop a more precise local policy.

Sustain Charlotte’s report examines approaches used in Austin, Denver, Nashville, Boulder, Davidson, and Cornelius. The research finds that effective policies generally emphasize pedestrian priority, safe speeds, yielding and passing behavior, and distinguish higher-speed devices from ordinary e-bikes while preserving access where appropriate.

Charlotte’s incomplete bicycle network is also an important consideration, the report notes. Requiring people on lower-speed e-bikes to ride in the roadway simply because a street has a posted 25 mph speed limit does not necessarily provide a safe alternative when traffic speeds are higher, volumes are heavy, or no protected bicycle facility exists.

“Charlotte does not have to choose between pedestrian safety and e-bike mobility,” Fencil said. “The goal should be to stop the behavior and devices that are creating danger while making sure the rules don’t unintentionally make transportation less safe for people who are riding responsibly.”

About Sustain Charlotte

Sustain Charlotte is a nonprofit organization working to create a more equitable, connected, and healthy community by inspiring responsible growth and transportation choices.

Since 2010, Sustain Charlotte has advocated for safer streets, better public transportation, walkable communities, affordability, parks and greenways, and growth that improves quality of life for everyone in the Charlotte region.