The Olathe City Council is on its way toward addressing e-bikes and electric scooters with updated laws, joining several other Johnson County cities that have added new regulations in the past year.
Olathe’s updated laws would prohibit e-bikes on certain paths, prohibit e-scooters on most roadways and require helmets for riders under 18, although police and city staffers say initial efforts will focus on “educating” the public.
“We’re going to do a very extensive campaign on education,” Olathe police chief Mike Butaud said. “We’re going to work with the school district and our school resource officers … just a wholesale education campaign before we do anything.”
Butaud said enforcement will likely begin on a complaint basis, with a focus on further education for kids when needed. Council member Kevin Deneault noted education has already begun, as his kid received an Andy’s coupon for wearing their helmet recently. Council member Jeff Creighton said he believes the education efforts will be of vital importance for kids.
“I think that’s really important, especially in our schools,” Creighton said. “Kids just don’t understand sometimes the position they put themselves in. There have been some deaths and tragedies in the area.”
These updated laws follow similar ordinances from neighboring cities following the death of fourth-grader Duke Ommert in Leawood in October. Ommert was on an e-scooter crossing a road when he was struck by a car. He later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Olathe’s new laws are not official yet — city council members weighed in Tuesday hoping to address all possibilities before they are fully approved.
Much of what Olathe will have in place can be traced to state laws, including the possibility of requiring insurance for riders. City attorneys said they’d look into insurance products for bikes and scooters, but they do currently require insurance and licenses for golf carts and micro-utility trucks on roads.
One piece of the proposal mayor John Bacon honed in on was possible confusion around “pedestrian use only” trails. The ordinance would allow e-bikes to be prohibited on trails based on a case-by-case basis.
“There’s been some confusion in the past about signage … So what trails in Olathe would be pedestrian use only, and what exactly does that mean?” Bacon said.
City attorney Bob Gallimore said he isn’t aware of any trails prohibited currently, but the intent is to allow the city to prohibit trails later on as needed. He said it was added following concerns from council members in the past about e-bikes in certain areas.
Bacon said he hopes that rule won’t be used too restrictively in the future — instead he’d like to see educational signage about sharing trails to utilize them to their fullest extent.
The council will vote on these ordinances at a future meeting.
