JACKSON, Wyo. — In an effort to help safeguard the pathways, the Town of Jackson, Teton County, Friends of Pathways (FOP), teachers and parents are working together to enforce proper bike and e-bike etiquette among local youth.
FOP Bike Safety Coordinator Jim Rooks told Buckrail that a community-wide survey and a separate student survey were distributed in the spring to learn more about how e-bikes are used in the community.
According to FOP, the surveys generated over a thousand responses encouraging increased safety on the pathways. The youth e-bike survey has received more than 580 responses from public school students in grades six through nine. According to those results, many kids on e-bikes have experienced close calls or have been in collisions — either with stationary objects, other riders, pedestrians or drivers. Speed was identified as the No. 1 problem on the pathways. Rooks said that students are aware of the issues on the pathways.
“They see the kids ‘sending it’ through stop signs, and not stopping,” Rooks said. “They see kids without helmets. They see three or four kids per bike.”
In September, the Jackson Hole Middle School’s principals and staff participated in a “bike blitz” after school, which identified “dozens and dozens” of riders presenting problematic behaviors.
“I think they called 30 parents in one afternoon,” Rooks said. “It really quickly got the message right to home.”
Rooks said that educators called some parents because their child was riding an illegal electric motor bike. The types of e-bikes that are allowed on the pathway system include classes 1, 2 or 3. It is also unlawful to modify an e-bike’s software because it can reclassify the bike to increase the speed and power limit, according to Rooks.
“It’s not a motorcycle, it’s not a bike,” Rooks said. “It’s a motor-bike. We’ve been really cracking down on those bikes because some of them go 50-plus miles per hour. The kids don’t have motorcycle licenses to ride them on the roadways.”
Last November, Town Council passed an ordinance giving the Town of Jackson the authority to post and enforce e-bike speed limits. The speed limit is 15 miles per hour (mph) along the town’s pathways and 10 mph in congested areas, including school zones and the Russ Garaman Park area. Within the Town of Jackson, speed limit signs have been posted throughout the entire pathway system.
Since the passing of the ordinance, the Jackson Police Department (JPD) and the Teton County Sheriff’s Office have stepped up efforts to control reckless riding, including issuing warnings and citations. JPD told Buckrail that its officers ride e-bikes during the summer months to patrol the pathways.
JPD Investigations Sergeant Phillip Smith shared with Buckrail the number of times that officers stopped bike riders in town this past summer: approximately 138 bike warnings were issued and approximately 20 citations were given to those breaking the law. According to Smith, these approximations reflect bike and e-bike ridership.
Rooks added that law enforcement is focused on education and prevention, and that actual citations are typically reserved for repeat offenders.
JPD Officer Jeromie Traphagen told Buckrail that he began patrolling for speed infractions on the pathways last year. Traphagen said that citations for speeding can start at $100. He stressed that any biker on a roadway is subject to the same laws as a vehicle.
“Day one, it was just tons of verbal warnings,” Traphagen said. “I would talk to kids about what they were doing. I showed them the radar gun that I was using to track people’s speeds. I was able to give them an understanding: ‘Hey, that’s when you’re speeding.'”
Traphagen said that on his second day out, he began to hand out citations for speeding, and he issued just as many speeding tickets to adults as to kids.
“The perception that all these kids are the problem is not reality,” Traphagen said. “You have both adults and kids who are equally doing things that are maybe not lawful in order to get from A to B in the shortest amount of time.”
Traphagen said that he enjoys having discussions with kids and adults about what is appropriate on the pathways and roads. He urged riders to wear a helmet.
“It’s technically not against the law to not wear a helmet,” Traphagen said. “But it’s super critical if you would like to keep your brain safe.”
Rooks noted that on roadways, even in protected bike lanes, kids 16 and younger must wear a helmet. On town pathways, no helmet law exists. FOP has dedicated much time to supplying kids with helmets, and educating older students about brain health and concussion risks.
According to FOP, a new pathways ambassador program, which is being funded by the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board, will launch in the spring of 2026. Inspired by the Teton Pass ambassador program, staff and volunteers will have boots on the ground in efforts to proactively encourage proper etiquette on the pathways for years to come.
