Spring has almost sprung, and when it does they will be zipping and zagging in all directions.
No, we’re not talking about robins or mosquitoes, we’re referring to all shapes and sizes of e-bikes and e-scooters.
After the snow melts, the two- and three-wheeled buzzers will be on the roadways, paths, and parking lots throughout the south metro.
While many riders are following laws, their misuse ranges from annoying to hazardous, as some cities like Lakeville have taken an all-hands-on-the-handle-bars approach to ensure safe and legal operation of e-bikes and e-scooters.
The effort has leaned on a public information campaign, in addition to a sidewalk ban for the devices.
Lakeville’s initiative had included distribution of the city’s Ride Safe, Ride Smart flier in electronic forms on Lakeville Area School District and city websites and e-newsletters, shares on social media, development of an e-bike safety course, and the police department’s education efforts in the patrol division and at in-person events, such as Night to Unite, Safety Camps, and the Lakeville Home & Landscape Community Expo.
Lakeville resident Ann Brucciani Lyon, a marketing professional, said an encounter she had with a young person riding an e-bike in a Lakeville park precipitated her efforts to coordinate the campaign.
She said the e-cyclist was going about 20 mph through the park and forced her and her walking partners to disperse from the path. After they yelled at the cyclist to slow down, the young person gestured to them and sped off.
Brucciani Lyon said an October 2025 Hastings incident was also a driving force. In it, a woman walking on a sidewalk was struck by an e-bike from behind. She was hospitalized after suffering a traumatic brain injury. She said she incurred more than $20,000 in medical bills, lost her sense of taste and smell, has ringing in her ears, and has an open orbital fracture in the bone around one eye. The e-bike operator was not charged.
After the incident, she’s working with the Legislature to pass a bill that would categorize the fastest Class 3 e-bikes as motorcycles, leading them to require driver’s licenses and be operated only on roadways.
The city of Lakeville bans e-scooters and e-bikes from being operated on sidewalks, which means they are required in roadways, such as in the downtown area, or on multi-use trails. That’s the same for Burnsville, Farmington and Rosemount.
The cities of Eagan and Apple Valley allow Class 1-3 devices on sidewalks and trails.
“With a rapid increase in the use of e-bikes/scooters of the past couple of years we saw a quick demand to get involved and active as a police department,” said Lakeville Lt. Jason Haider. “Last summer the Lakeville Police Department focused extensively on e-bike/scooter education for the community to include social media and patrol division education.”
He said the agency has been focusing on initiating contact with riders to correct behaviors and follow-up with parents as needed to educate them on operation laws and encourage compliance and safety.
“A large portion of this situation is due to a lack of knowledge and awareness,” he said. “A common and concerning violation is a failure to wear a helmet while operating e-bikes/scooters. Not only does this create a physical safety risk but also a statutory violation.”
Haider said sidewalk riding and traffic law and sign violations are also common.
“As e-bike/scooter operators, many of whom are young, it is your responsibility to travel safely and be mindful of the motoring public,” he said. “Your safety and wellbeing require it.”
Haider said he urges parents to be cautious about purchasing these devices and discuss with their children before making a decision.
“As a parent of a 12- and 14-year-old I have significant concerns about permitting or allowing my children to operate e-bikes/scooters,” he said. “The city of Lakeville and many areas in Dakota County have busy roadways, traffic congestion, and large neighborhoods. You are empowered to make your own decision but please do so with concern, rules/laws, and safety in mind.”
Prices drop, bikes proliferate
E-bike and e-scooter issues took flight in the suburbs when prices fell on the devices a few years ago. Current prices are around $600 to $1,000 for many of the e-bikes that have a max speed under 30 mph and look like motorcycles. E-scooter prices can be lower than that.
Many complaints about misuse from motorists and people walking through parks and neighborhoods are directed toward younger operators who cause near misses and sometimes crashes.
Riders must be at least 12 years old to ride e-scooters that go under 15 mph and at least 15 years old to ride e-assisted bikes that go under 28 mph. Many people say the age restriction is often broken since children and parents are not aware of the regulations.
“Drivers are very, very nervous,” Brucciani Lyon said. “They tend to be underage on these bikes and they are going faster than they should go.”
Minnesota law states e-bikes can be used wherever traditional bikes are allowed, which primarily includes the right side of roadways and obeying traffic signs and yielding to pedestrians.
The city of Lakeville published a color-coded map on its website showing where e-bikes and e-scooters can and can’t ride.
For the most part, riders can get around the city on trails or in-road bikeways, but in some instances they will need to use streets, such as in the downtown area due to the sidewalk ban.
“They are everywhere and they don’t care about following rules,” said one online commenter to the Lakeville Police Department’s E-bikes & More Facebook post. “I almost hit three of them last week because I couldn’t see them in the road til I got right on them. Doing wheelies and swerving in and out of both lanes. Would not move over for me.”
“Kids and parents definitely need to be educated on these guidelines,” another commenter said. “I see way too many kids zipping around on scooters cruising through intersections without looking and not wearing helmets. It’s so scary to see!”
In the city of Lakeville, helmets are required for those 18 and under on e-scooters and those 16-18 years old on a fully motorized bike that goes up to 30 mph, but helmets are not required for e-assisted bikes.
“Clinics are seeing accidents,” Brucciani Lyon said.
The 2026 Electric-Assisted Bicycle Youth Operation Study, which was directed by the Minnesota Legislature, found that of the 100 children ages 17 and under seen in the emergency room 7% suffered a mild to severe traumatic brain injury while operating an e-bike or e-scooter. Of the 414 adults injured, 13% had a TBI. The study covered an 18-month period and included 140 hospitals in the Twin Cities and outstate.
The study found 52% of the crashes for youth was a non-collision (no other vehicle, object or person involved). Vehicle collisions accounted for 14% and bike/pedestrian collisions 4%.
“E-bike/scooter safety is certainly an important concern and educational topic for the Lakeville Police Department,” Haider said. “We have seen a number of unfortunate injuries and deaths related to e-bike/scooter operations in the recent years. These injuries are preventable and unfortunate/tragic. With that said it remains a core priority recently as it has an impact on both the e-bike/scooter operators and the general public to include motor vehicle drivers.”
State Rep. Robert Bierman, DFL-Apple Valley, said the 2024 legislative session approved several key provisions to improve e-bike safety.
One law prohibits e-assisted bikes that go over 20 mph from state trails that are shared with pedestrians.
The session also authorized the 2026 Electric-Assisted Bicycle Youth Operation Study, which makes several recommendations to improve safe and legal operation of the devices.
One recommendation is a state requirement for businesses that sell e-bikes to distribute e-bike education materials at the point of sale for every new and used e-bike. The materials would include state laws regarding age and use restrictions for the different classes of e-assist bike and the vastly different rules for e-motos.
The study said: “Based upon stakeholder interviews, youth of all ages are using e-motos, which are often purchased by parents who may or may not know that e-motos are not e-bikes and have different regulations. Stakeholders also communicated that when youth are practicing unlawful or dangerous behavior on devices, it is often on e-moto devices and not on e-bikes.”
E-motos that go in excess of 30 mph need a driver’s license or permit, drivers need to be age 16 or older and can only be driven in roadways.
The study also recommends various educational campaigns, including classes for children, parents, and adults.
The Lakeville Parks and Recreation Department has developed an e-bike safety and etiquette course with Lakeville’s Downtown Bicycles.
The first course is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at 9057 203rd St. W., Suite 400.
The $7 workshop will cover general bicycle safety etiquette designed to empower every rider to be a more courteous, aware and confident user of trails and roads. It will also review state and local electric bike specific rules and regulations. Parents of youths who ride electric bikes are encouraged to attend.
