Oshkosh considers an E-Bikes ordinance

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WISS) – The city of Oshkosh may soon have a new ordinance on the use of E-bikes and motorized bicycles within city limits.

Council members discussed the issue at length during the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and then referred the concern to the transportation department to draft an ordinance.

In a memo to the Common Council, City Attorney Lynn Lorenson stated that the increased popularity of e-bikes and motorbikes has led to an increase in complaints from citizens, particularly regarding their use on sidewalks.

Jacob Klaameyer was the only citizen to speak to the council on the matter. As a regular user of e-bikes in the city, Klaameyer said safety is a concern for both pedestrians and bikers.

“There’s pedestrian safety at risk when you have an e-bike going at speeds near pedestrians. And I totally agree that’s something that we should all be trying to address,” Klaameyer said. “But I’d also like to point out, for every complaint that you hear from a pedestrian where there’s a biker on the sidewalk, I would almost read that as there’s a biker that doesn’t feel safe being on the road, really, where they should be.”

Council Member Kris Larson said he asked for feedback on this issue from his constituents after he posted a video on Facebook showing an e-bike rider weaving in and out of pedestrian traffic on a sidewalk in downtown Oshkosh.

“And overwhelmingly people seem to agree that there are instances where having an e-bike really close to a building where people can walk out of it if they’re shopping is dangerous,” Larson said. 

Brad Spanbauer said he has also received feedback from residents regarding the safety of e-bikes, particularly on sidewalks.

“ I know in lots of communities, bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks. They are really only permitted to be on the city streets. And so I think with proper infrastructure, that’s a direction I would like to see us go. However, I do see folks biking and e-biking on trails in the parks and other sorts of things. I don’t want to negate any of that either,” Spanbauer said.

Jacob Floam said he wants to ensure the city strikes a balance between the need for e-bikes as a form of transportation and public safety.

“ For me, I’d like to see if we could get them off the sidewalks, where they can go on the road,” said Floam. “That would be the best option for me because I don’t want to ban the ownership of these in Oshkosh–Having a soft ban, essentially.”

The city of Oshkosh has an ordinance that prohibits e-scooters from all city sidewalks and certain streets.

“It is worth noting. Section 27 dash 66.4 strictly, clearly prohibits the operation of any electric scooter or electric personal assisted mobility device. We’ve defined that as a segway-type thing on roadways having more than 25 miles an hour, and they’re expressly prohibited on sidewalks as well,” Oshkosh Mayor Matt Mugerauer explained.

Mugerauer went on to say that it might be simple enough for an e-bike ordinance to mirror the scooter ordinances. 

The Common Council decided to refer the issue to the Transportation Committee to work with staff on drafting a new ordinance to be brought before the council at a later date.