The Goodyear City Council has adopted a new electric bicycle and scooter ordinance that limits where riders can operate, places restrictions on operators younger than 16 — including a ban on children under 12 operating e-bikes and scooters — and makes traffic laws such as speed limits enforceable.
The ordinance also includes a ban on riding under the influence and subjects offenders to Arizona DUI statutes.
“Individuals utilizing these devices must obey posted speed limits,” said Jose Gonzalez, the deputy chief of the Goodyear police. “They must ride at a speed that is reasonable and safe for the conditions, and riders must control speeds to avoid hazards or collisions.”
The council voted 6-0 on Monday in favor of the ordinance. Goodyear Mayor Joe Pizzillo was not present for the vote.
It requires all riders under 16 to wear a helmet while operating an e-bike or scooter. Children under 12 are not permitted to operate an e-bike or scooter, and children under 16 cannot operate a Class 3 e-bike — the fastest class of e-bike.
Children under 16 are also not permitted to carry passengers.
E-bikes and scooters are now required to travel in the direction of traffic and cannot travel in groups wider than two abreast.
E-bikes must use the bike lane or road instead of the sidewalk. E-scooters are permitted on the sidewalk only on roads with no bike lane and a speed limit greater than 25 mph.
The ordinance also bans parking e-bikes and scooters on sidewalks and streets.
Gonzalez said parts of the ordinance won’t be enforced until November to allow time for community education, but DUI enforcement will begin immediately.
“We're going to take a six-month period to work with our digital communications partners to come up with an educational campaign to really kind of focus on educating our community on the do's and don'ts of e-devices within our community,” Gonzalez said.
Violations come with a fine starting at $50, and increasing up to $500 for repeat offenses. For minors illegally operating e-bikes and scooters, parents will be responsible for fines issued by the city.
The ordinance permits the Goodyear parks department to post signage to restrict ridership and speeds within parks.
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