The Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation Commission revisited ideas on how to enforce e-bike safety on heavily used trails and roadways during their meeting Wednesday.

They specifically addressed parental responsibility and plans for eventually forming a subcommittee devoted to the issue.

“We’ve always leaned on education and signage, which is a great place to be. But we’re outnumbered with e-bikes. They’re all over the place … ,” said Parks and Rec Commissioner Calder Young during the meeting. “If it’s part of our community now, I think we’re past banning.”

The discussion invited the commissioners, members of the local organization Routt County Riders and Steamboat Springs Police Chief Mark Beckett to break down why enforcement is difficult and consider options to improve e-bike safety city-wide.

Beckett noted that most he has had similar discussions with sheriffs and police chiefs in other Colorado counties, who say they are facing the same problems.

“In my opinion, and in the opinion of most agency CEOs, this is an example of technology far exceeding statutory ability … ,” said Beckett during the meeting. “We’re making it up as we go on how to approach these things.”

In the past two years, Steamboat Springs police have issued 25 warnings and citations and have spoken to parents about a rider’s dangerous actions, according to Beckett. The low number is largely due to enforcement complications.

Of the dangerous actions, Beckett noted that youth often flee from police officers, creating a more dangerous situation.

“There are a lot of considerations that we have to take into account,” said Beckett. “We can’t just detain a kid and then let them go … It’s very, very complicated — including child protective services — for what really what really is, in my opinion, a parenting problem. This isn’t really a law problem; it’s probably not a public works problem. This is a community and a parenting problem.”

Beckett said that he has given police officers directions to seize e-motocycles, which are different from e-bikes and are typically not registered. In the same way law enforcement can seize an unregistered vehicle, officers can also seize e-motorcycles.

“With e-bikes, we’re limited in our authority … ,” Beckett added. “We can do more — and we need to do more — to connect with our parents and teach them the responsibilities that come with this.”

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kelly Phillips said that he sees child-focused outreach and education as something that could “exacerbate the situation.”

“How do we make it painful for the parents?” said Phillips. “That’s where it’s gotta be … How do we make it painful enough for the parents to pay attention and start parenting their children?”

“Personally, I would like to keep it off the shoulders of the police department and police officers,” added Young. “There are so many hurdles with enforcement, and your guys’ job is tough enough. There are plenty of other things that you guys have to put your intention on … Policing the trails is an impossible task.”

Beckett later stated that law enforcement is not responsible for preventing accidents on e-bikes. All responsibility falls on the rider and the parents, he said.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Shay Bright-Mouttet noted that she has heard “a number of public comments” stating that much of the dangerous action comes from people in their 20s, in addition to middle school and high school-aged kids.

The commission and Beckett considered implementing stricter municipality requirements for e-bike registration, but it’s unclear what the city can and cannot legally require.

“The best way to get people’s attention is to get their wallet … ,” said Young. “We register cars. These are basically vehicles that any human can operate … “

The commission also considered incentivising parents to participate in bike safety courses, which are already provided by Routt County Riders in local schools, or going through bike shops to encourage education and consistency.

“The day that someone either gets severely hurt or killed, we are going to be really, really bummed out as a community,” Parks and Rec Commissioner David High said. “I would love to see us take this very, very seriously.”

High — who is also on the board of Routt County Riders — added that the organization recently lost a donation from a major contributor because the organization “is not doing enough.”

“We would like to participate,” High continued. “We have the willingness, we have some money, and we would love to see a way to communicate and to engage with the streets and with the police to make this work.”

Routt County Riders and the commission later discussed improving signage, particularly on Lincoln Avenue, that would remind e-bikers of speed limits and no-ride zones.

“I can see the signs,” said Phillips. “If people are still doing this and there are signs up there, I’m not sure that putting a sign up every 10 feet is going to do anything.”

Routt County Riders board members voiced a need for bike route detour signs, pointing bikers to Oak and Yampa streets or the Core Trail.

Beyond signage, the commission also considered increasing the number of collaborative and educational events produced by Routt County Riders and the police department, developing an app to track riders’ speeds and reward good riding behavior and launching social media campaigns to spread e-bike safety awareness.

Ultimately, the commission approved a motion to create a subcommittee to continue a focus on tackling e-bike safety education and enforcement. 

The subcommittee includes three commissioners and Routt County Riders board members. The subcommittee will collaborate with Steamboat Springs Public Works as well as the police department on solutions moving forward.