by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Claremont City Council voted unanimously March 25 to approve a first reading of an ordinance that would allow e-bike usage on Claremont Hills Wilderness Park trails. The ordinance will have a second reading April 22 and if approved will go into effect 30 days later.

The vote followed hours of public comment. Representatives from Friends of the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park and Claremont Wildlands Conservancy endorsed banning e-bikes from the park. Other speakers argued the trails should be accessible to all.

Some also said the city should reassess its data before deciding.

“I think that some of the lack of data that we have is contributing to some anecdotal stories, and I think that responsibility truly is our fault,” said Vice Mayor Jennifer Stark.

The vote comes months after the city elicited community input on e-bikes, and two years after state Assembly Bill 1909 went into effect, “which eliminated all e-bike restrictions on trails and permitted any class of e-bike by default, unless a local agency passed an ordinance to prohibit some or all classes of e- bikes,” according to a staff report.

Claremont’s Recreation and Human Services Department Manager Eric Ey at the March 25 Claremont City Council meeting. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

The council also voted 3-2 to strike language that would have made it a requirement for equestrians to pick up their horses’ excrement. Mayor Corey Calaycay and Council member Ed Reece voted against it.

“If I have to pick up after my dog, I feel like people should have to pick up after their horse,” Reece said.

The proposed ordinance would:

• define e-bikes as “a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.”
• limit electric vehicles allowed at the Wilderness Park to class I and class II e-bikes, which are pedal-assisted and throttle-assisted, respectively, and bikes with an electric motor smaller than 750 watts.

• codify trail etiquette and yielding standards: cyclists yield to pedestrians and equestrians; pedestrians yield to equestrians. Hikers must also remain on the right side of trails so that cyclists can pass on the left.

• establish that trail users can’t ride, walk, or run more than two persons abreast.

• codify that earbuds and headphones cannot cover both ears.

• allow park rangers to remove violators and cite them for misdemeanor trespassing if they ignore initial warnings.

• direct e-bike riders, cyclists, and equestrians to use specific trails. “Such determinations will be based upon public safety and the potential impact on natural resources,” according to the draft ordinance.

• require cyclists to equip bicycles with a warning bell, refrain from riding on wet or muddy trails, and operate at a safe speed. “From an enforcement perspective, a specific speed limit is nearly impossible to enforce,” Claremont Recreation and Human Services Department Manager Eric Ey said. “It’d require radar guns. Obviously, we discussed, you know, pursuing individuals on the trail not being feasible, so that’s why we did not recommend a speed limit.”

• codify that dogs and horses be secured with a lead of not more than six feet in length, and bar other animals from the park, save service animals.

The City Council also added subsection F to the ordinance’s trail etiquette and yielding section, which states “This section does not relieve a pedestrian, bicyclist, or equestrian from the duty of exercising due care for the safety of other users of the trail.”

Ey added that monitoring e-bike violations could be troublesome as it would take additional staff time and resources, adding it’s not feasible to conduct traffic stops on narrow trails.

The draft ordinance complies with Americans with Disabilities standards, according to Ey, who added in the event a disabled person needs an exemption for their electric conveyance, the city can issue them.

Following the vote, the council instructed city staff to gather information on e-bike accidents, e-bike usage at the park, citations issued, and asked to see the numbers in a year.

The next meeting of the Claremont City Council is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8 at council chambers, 225 W. Second St.