JACKSON, Wyo. — Town Councilors discussed the implementation of stricter e-bike laws and directed staff to write a report focused on pathway and e-bike safety during its Town Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 9.
Councilor Jim Rooks stressed the need for greater consequences for those who disregard e-bike safety regulations.
“I don’t think we have anywhere near the negative reinforcement associated with misbehavior on an e-bike,” Rooks said. “It’s a full-blown health and safety issue. Go look at how they ride and tell me if they look concerned at all about being cited. They’re just not.”
During the meeting, the Council reviewed a letter, which was initially presented to the Town Council on Aug. 5 by the Executive Director of Friends of Pathways (FOP) Katherine Dowson, that listed six measures to help enforce pathway/e-bike safety. The measures were approved by Town Council in Sept. 2022, but was brought before the council again for further review. The staff report will make updates to the recommendations and it will be reconsidered within 90 days. Approved measures include:
- Expanded e-bike and bicycle safety education programs at Jackson Hole Middle School (JHMS) and possibly other schools.
- Bike shops are to implement a mandatory (3 to 5 minute) education program on pathway safety for anyone renting or purchasing a bike.
- Establish and enforce a 15-mph speed limit with selected 10-mph slow zones on Town of Jackson pathways because there is still a significant number of people traveling too fast on the pathways.
- Install chicane gates that force users to slow down upon entering slow zones and high traffic areas. Construction is expected to begin on the gates this spring 2025.
- Install traffic calming pavement textures and/or coloring to indicate slow zones.
- Install educational/informational signage that informs users about proper pathway
etiquette and rules. Funding for this item needs to be requested by the Council.
The letter also cites that the public continues to share pathway safety concerns.
“The Town/County Pathways program still receives frequent complaints about etiquette and safety concerns involving middle school aged kids, so it seems that more work is still needed,” Teton County Pathways & Trails Coordinator Brian Schilling wrote in the letter.
Rooks said that the letter needs to add a seventh item to include accountability and traffic infractions while biking.
“I’m concerned because we’ve been talking about this for multiple years … Do we take it upon ourselves to actually regulate?” Rooks said. “Whenever we talk about this we say, ‘When someone gets hurt or killed.’ Let’s hold cyclists, in this case juveniles, accountable for traffic rules and regulations. It can be done in a proactive manner with education and positive behavior support.”
Reflecting upon his experience as a Teton County School District teacher, Rooks said that there are different ways to address bad behavior.
“The incentive has to be good enough or the consequence have to be bad enough to shift the human behavior,” Rooks explained. “If a kid gets a ticket, they have an option to do an hour of community service on the pathways with a pathways’ coordinator. If a kid gets multiple tickets, they have an opportunity to go on a diversion path. I’m not interested in doing stiff fines, there are families who might not have the financial means.”
Councilwoman Jessica Sell Chambers suggested that Town Council work with the JHMS to create an enforcement plan.
Town Manager Tyler Sinclair told the Council that evaluating and updating existing laws for the next biking season is timely and necessary.
“I expect us to find some different alternatives and solutions,” Sinclair said. “It’s an on-going discussion all across town.”
