As e-bike popularity zooms ahead, cities address confusion, concerns

As the use of electric-assist bikes increases in Eugene and Springfield, so do debates about their use and how to address bad behavior.

Advocates say e-bikes are great for commuting, easing traffic congestion and making bicycling more accessible — plus, they are more environmentally friendly than gas-powered cars.

Critics worry that e-bikes travel too fast on multiuse paths where people are running and walking.

“We’ve definitely been hearing a lot about e-bikes at the city and have been doing work over the last few years to do education and outreach around them,” said Shane Rhodes, transportation options program manager for the city of Eugene.

The city is reaching out to users about path etiquette and which devices are allowed on the paths. Rhodes said complaints often mix up e-bikes, which are allowed on shared paths, with other devices that aren’t, such as electric motorcycles.

“There’s this linking up of people’s concerns with devices that are fast and hazardous with e-bikes, and often they’re not e-bikes,” Rhodes said.

What the law says

First, a definition for the unindoctrinated: Electric-assist bicycles, also known as e-bikes, are bicycles that are operated by pedaling, but the rider gets a boost from an electric motor. Some e-bikes have a throttle, which allows the rider to use the motor to propel the bike without having to pedal.

A law passed in 2024 created three classifications of e-bikes:

• Class 1: The motor provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling. The motor stops providing assistance when the bike reaches 20 mph.
• Class 2: These bikes have throttles and can be propelled by the motor without a rider pedaling, but they top out at 20 mph.
• Class 3: As with a Class 1 e-bike, the motor provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, but the motor shuts off when the bike reaches 28 mph. These bikes also have speedometers.

If an electric-powered bike doesn’t fall into any of the classes, it’s not a legal e-bike in Oregon. It’s classified as a moped or motorcycle instead, and it can’t be ridden in bike lanes or on shared-use paths. Throttle-only bikes that do not have pedals are not legally e-bikes, either, even if the speed tops out at 28 mph, according to the city of Eugene.

E-bikes that do fall into one of the classes are considered “bicycles” under Oregon law and can be ridden in bike lanes and on shared-use paths, and no license or permit is required.

But a few rules apply to e-bikes specifically: E-bike operators must be 16 or older and e-bikes are not allowed on sidewalks.

On shared-use paths in Eugene, bikes and e-bikes can travel up to 12 mph when other path users are present and at a maximum of 20 mph on open stretches when there are no other people around.

Additionally, in Alton Baker Park the city has forbidden e-bikes on the north and south side paths in the Whilamut Natural Area. People can ride e-bikes on the main path through the park.

What the cities are doing

The city of Eugene launched a path etiquette campaign a few years ago to educate users about safe behavior for shared paths, including staying to the right, announcing when passing and going at a safe speed. In addition to hosting outreach events and monitoring speed along popular paths, the city installed signs along the paths that describe the etiquette and include speed limits.

“We found that most people who were going over the 20-mile-an-hour speed limit, it was really split half and half between pedal bikes and e-bikes,” Rhodes said. “So our concern is whatever you’re using on the path, you should be doing it in a respectful way.”

He said the city has plans to stripe the center line on more shared paths and use solid and dashed lines to delineate where it’s safe to pass. It is also adding yield symbols on the ground at routes that intersect a main path.

“We know that there are issues around speeding and sort of dangerous behavior, and I think that there’s more that we can and plan to do to try to address that,” Rhodes said. “Some of that eventually could be enforcement, but we’re looking for some hard education first.”

The city also created an annual e-bike expo in 2021 to connect community members interested in purchasing e-bikes with local shops and to educate potential e-bike owners on safety, laws and path etiquette.

Springfield last week rolled out an e-mobility education video and campaign. The video talks about rules and recommendations for various electric mobility devices, including e-bikes. 

Loralyn Spiro, a spokesperson for Springfield Development & Public Works, said e-mobility devices, which include e-scooters and electric skateboards among others, are an emerging transportation option, which is why the city wanted to provide education on the topic.

“Safety is our number one goal for anybody traveling within Springfield,” Spiro said. “We want people to do so in a safe manner. And so we wanted to provide some educational resources for them to learn from, so that there’s a positive interaction when people are using e-mobility devices.”

E-bikes are allowed in Willamalane parks and on paths and “shall not move at a speed, or in a manner, that endangers other persons, pets, wildlife or District Property,” according to Willamalane’s ordinances. According to the video, the maximum speed for e-bikes on paths is 20 mph.

Kids and e-bikes 

“We see a lack of clarity in Oregon’s laws around exactly what a micromobility device is and around how it should be used and who should be riding that,” said Cameron Bennett, policy lead at the Oregon Micromobility Network, a coalition of stakeholders that promotes micromobility. “Micromobility” refers to small human- and electric-powered vehicles, including bikes and e-bikes.

The group supported a bill in the Legislature this year that would have established a definition for powered micromobility devices, set aside funding for an Oregon Department of Transportation safety education program on micromobility, and lowered the age to ride Class 1 bikes to 14. But the bill stalled in the Ways and Means committee during discussions about the state’s broader transportation funding package.

Bennett said lowering the age requirement would provide the opportunity for high schoolers to have more opportunities to learn about e-bikes that top out at 20 mph.

Rhodes, at the city of Eugene, said there shouldn’t be an age limit for Class 1 e-bikes. Most sixth graders in the Eugene-Springfield area receive bike safety education in schools, and e-bike education could be folded into that, he said.

Rhodes said this would also point parents toward the safest option if they want to buy their child an e-bike and would provide youth transportation options other than cars before they’re old enough to get a drivers license.

“Our Safe Routes to School program can’t teach bike safety education around e-bikes because kids aren’t allowed to ride them,” Rhodes said. “We know they are (riding them), and we want to make it safe for them to do that.”

Bennett said there’s a lot of confusion about whether it’s legal or safe for kids to be on e-bikes and whether they’re allowed to ride them on a given path, because regulations aren’t consistent across different types of devices that look similar.

He said the Oregon Micromobility Network is focused on “providing clarification on these device definitions and on safe riding ages and behaviors for families in Oregon, making sure that we’ve got education in place for everybody to be able to ride safely and access these devices in the ways that are useful to them.”

Bennett said the micromobility network is hoping to see legislation that updates driver education courses and other transportation education to include micromobility. 

He said his organization is also focused on regulating “dangerous out-of-class bicycles.”

“I think one of the biggest communication challenges that we run into is the distinction between e-bikes and out-of-class electric motorcycles and ATVs,” he said. “To put it really succinctly, if it goes over 30 miles per hour, it’s not an e-bike. That’s not what we’re talking about, and that’s not what we’re championing.

“Recognizing that e-bikes are generally low-speed, low-impact vehicles can underscore their value to communities in addition to the individuals that choose to use them,” Bennett added.

Shared paths and e-bikes

State Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, who describes himself as an avid cyclist, told Lookout Eugene-Springfield he is concerned with the interface of e-bikes on multiuse paths. Prozanski in the most recent legislative session sponsored a bill that would have banned Class 3 e-bikes from multiuse paths and bike lanes, but the bill did not advance. 

Prozanski said he’s worried about the potential for collisions between people walking and speeding e-bikes. He doesn’t have any specific plans for future legislation but said he hopes to provide more clarity as to what devices are allowed on the paths and what is the protocol for those bikes and their operators.

“And then it really comes down to whether or not local communities have the resources to do enforcement,” Prozanski said.

Charlie Loeb, who lives in Eugene, is a leader of the Emerald Valley Electric Vehicle Association, which promotes the electrification of transportation, including e-bikes. He said his family got an electric bike in 2019 and within a year they discovered they could get rid of one of their cars. His wife uses the bike to commute to work.

Loeb said that while e-bikes do raise some concerns when they mix with pedestrians and cyclists, they raise many fewer concerns than a car does with those same groups.

“I do see people moving way too fast on the bike trails, often on high-powered e-bikes that don’t really belong there at all,” he said. “But I also see a lot of really responsible e-bike users who are out pedaling the riverfront path at a reasonable rate, no faster than one might move on a conventional bike, which is the right thing to do in that kind of situation.”

A fast-evolving technology

J Lundin, co-owner at Eugene Electric Bicycles, said the e-bike industry is like the “wild, wild West” as technology and legislation evolves.

“We’re trying to figure out how we can make all this stuff work,” Lundin said. “You know, when done well and right and safely, these are tremendous assets.”

Lundin’s shop on River Road provides sales, rentals and service. He said much of the store’s clientele is 50 or older, but they’re also seeing more parents purchasing cargo bikes to take their kids to school. The shop sells bikes that go up to Class 3 speeds. Prices vary but Lundin said the average price for an e-bike is about $2,000.

Allan Stults stopped in the shop to ask Lundin questions about an e-bike he purchased earlier in the year. The 79-year-old, who lives in Veneta, used to ride 60 to 100 miles a week on a road bike.

“The hills are a little tougher when you get close to 80 years old,” he told a reporter.

With the e-bike, Stults can go up steep hills and use the throttle toward the end of a 20-mile ride when he’s getting tired.

When a customer visits the shop to purchase an e-bike, Lundin asks them what they want to use it for, such as commuting or off-roading. He then selects a bike and has the customer take it out to ride laps in the parking lot. They can even try it on the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path behind the shop.

He makes sure the customer knows how to use the turn signals, headlights and other features. He also talks them about the rules of the paths and roads. 

“We’re making sure they hit the road at a high level to ensure our community is safe and people have a good experience,” Lundin said.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct a word in a quote from Cameron Bennett.