The Flossmoor village board agreed to not ban e-bikes and e-scooters but rather find ways to educate residents on their safety and communicate how bikers and drivers need to share the road. 

Police Chief Carl Estelle and Assistant Village Manager Jonathan Bogue took turns speaking to the trustees on the issue at the Nov. 3 board meeting on whether regulations are needed. They made a presentation on e-bikes and e-scooters, the bike classifications, scooter types, state and local regulations, local examples and education. 

State law divides e-bikes into three classes: Class 1 is motor assist when pedaling at speeds up to 20 mph, Class 2 has a motor operating without pedaling limited to 20 mph, and Class 3 is like Class 1 but limited to a speed of 28 mph. 

People 16 and older can legally ride a Class 3 e-bike with those under 16 able to ride as passengers. 

Some state regulations for e-scooters include mandatory lights and reflectors when used at night, mandatory brakes, condition requirements, and other regulations for carrying things, number of riders and prohibits things like siren use.

The presentation used examples of regulations from other communities. For example, Orland Park made it illegal to operate e-bikes and e-scooters anywhere in town; other villages had regulations based on bike class and age restrictions. 

Graham Bolkema, owner of GoodSpeed Cycles in Homewood, spoke during public comments about e-bikes and the impact they have had on his business. 

Bolkema said he’s seen a rise in popularity in e-bikes the past five years and sells Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes at his Homewood shop. He said children are using the bikes as transportation to school and older people use the bike to be more active and outdoors. 

Some concerns he brought up were how most e-bikes are indistinguishable from regular bikes, and people buying online will not get the same information or education on the bike as they would from staff in a store. 

“However you choose to regulate, it is not going to stop people from being able to purchase online and other places,” Bolkema said. “I would encourage you to do the work of understanding the differences between classes and how they operate.” 

Trustee Gary Daggett suggested taking a slow approach to not overwhelm residents and local law enforcement on the types of e-bikes and e-scooters that could be dangerous and require education. 

Daggett said he wouldn’t want to put the village in a situation where laws further burden police and residents. 

“Now they’re stopping a 10-year-old because they don’t meet the letter of the law when they weren’t doing anything unsafe,” Daggett said of a hypothetical situation where e-bikes were outlawed. “Now it’s a bad interaction that we’ve had with the police in the community.” 

Trustee Carolyn Rodgers spoke from the perspective of someone who owns Class 2 and 3 bikes with her husband and children ages 8 and 15 using them. 

Rodgers talked about education for everyone, including car drivers who must share the road and bike lanes. 

She said parents would not be in favor of banning the vehicles with most in the price range in the thousands and children using them to go back and forth from school like her own children. 

In terms of a local ordinance, Rodgers said there should be more education for parents and for trustees to see the response from the community. 

Trustee George Lofton spoke on the possibility of local ordinances managing the issue in places like downtown, age restrictions and riding safety. 

Lofton also mentioned the possibility of age restrictions needing to be discussed. With examples like Rodgers and her family, it shows young people can ride safely if properly educated and with the proper gear, he said. 

No action was taken at the meeting. Trustees agreed more discussion on e-bikes and e-scooters is needed.