ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - The City Council has adopted an ordinance adding regulations to the city’s municipal codes governing the operation, enforcement and administration of bicycles and personal transportation devices (PTDs) in Elk Grove.

The ordinance passed 5-0 at the council’s Aug. 12 meeting repeals existing codes that were outdated and replaces it with codes focused a lot on personal transportation modes and operations. In a presentation to the council, Elk Grove Police Sgt. Shane Glaser said the new codes will help the department deal with the rise in collisions involving bicycles, pedestrians and electronic bikes seen since 2023, especially given the rise in the use of electric scooters and motorized skateboards.

According to the report, in 2023 the department recorded 37 bicycle-related collisions, 29 pedestrian-related collisions, seven E-bike service calls and 128 scooter service calls. That increased to 72, 35, 62 and 245 respectively by 2025.

Glaser said so far through Aug. 9, there have been 33 bicycle-related collisions, 20 pedestrian-related collisions, 193 E-bike calls and 204 scooter calls.

One of the biggest items in the ordinance is clarifying what is allowed in the way of electric transportation and what is not. Glaser said the biggest confusion often comes between E-bikes and E-motos.

“E-bikes are legal; they are allowed in our community roadways,” Glaser said. “E-motorcycles, they are not. E-motorcycles are exclusively for off-highway usage. They are not allowed anywhere in our community.”

The ordinance allows bicycles on sidewalks but does not allow PTDs unless permitted by signage. It prohibits PTDs with motors of 750 watts or more from sidewalks and requires users of all these transportation modes to yield to pedestrians and use audible signals when passing.

The ordinance further clarifies that bikes and PTDs are not allowed on trails, prohibits PTDs with motors 750 watts or more and confirms a 15-mph limit on trails. It prohibits any form of reckless riding activity – including racing – on city streets and property, prohibits modifications enabling exceeding speed limits and provides enforcement tools and impoundment procedures, including issuing of administrative citations and escalating penalties for repeat offenders.

“The ordinance is about the opportunity to correct behavior,” Police Chief Bobby Davis said.

Glaser said the ordinance does not ban bikes and PTDs, change the city’s cycling network, set impound fees or go against California state law. It also does not restrict pedestrian access, change sidewalk designations and – importantly – restrict the use of “electric personal assistive mobility devices due to physical disability.”

Both Glaser and Davis reinforced the department implementation focus of relying heavily on education about the new regulations and what is expected of bicycle and PTD operators. The department has already been in communication and coordination with the Elk Grove School District to get the word out to students and parents.

“Education, more education and more education on top of that,” Glaser said.

“We want to make it clear we want to make safety for our kids first,” Davis added. “We are education first, but if enforcement is necessary, we will do that.”

Also, at the Aug. 12 meeting the council voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of a new Lenco Industries armored response and rescue vehicle – known as a Bearcat – by the Police Department to replace an older model nearing the end of its useful life. The $448,642 purchase was included in a list of 16 items considered and voted on as a group under the council’s Consent Calendar.

The Lenco quotation to the city lists the Bearcat model as a G2. According to Lenco’s website, the G2 is composed of all-steel armored construction with “high ballistic protection” and is capable of carrying 10 to 12 fully equipped officers.

The proposed purchase drew several public comments, both for and against. Elk Grove resident Alison Randall asked the council to remove the item from the Consent Calendar, believing it required more public input before making a decision due to comments she said were made several months ago by Chief Davis that the current vehicle was just getting old, along with other comments that it was seldom used by the department and used more by other area agencies.

“You know Elk Grove is touted as a safe city and with this half-million price tag, I’m not sure why we need an armored vehicle,” Randall said. “It would be nice to hear more about the necessity of this expensive item.”

Elk Grove resident Alexander Basden also questioned the purchase, noting the money could be used for other things such as social programs.

Randy Bekker spoke in support of the purchase. Bekker, who said he is a former Elk Grove resident who moved out of the city but returns at times to address the council, referenced the 2019 death of Sacramento Police Department officer Tara O’Sullivan as a reason why Elk Grove needs vehicles such as the Bearcat.

O’Sullivan was shot and killed in June 2019 while responding to a domestic violence report. The rookie officer lay on the ground wounded while the suspect engaged other officers with gunfire and was only able to be rescued and transported to University of California-Davis Hospital after the arrival of a Bearcat 30 minutes after being shot.

She later died at the hospital. Bekker said he didn’t want to see a similar incident in Elk Grove and told the council they and the Police Department have a duty to protect the safety of citizens.

“If $500,000 isn’t worth a life, then what is?” Bekker asked.

Both Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and Councilmember Kevin Spease noted the Bearcat purchase has been an item for discussion at previous council meetings and was included in the city’s current budget, none of which drew any citizen comments. Davis added the current Bearcat has been used over 60 times in the past year by the city as well as other agencies.

“It is heavily used,” Davis said. “It is time to be replaced.”