FENTON, Mich. (WNEM) – Fenton’s popular downtown has become a hotspot for e-bikes, and city leaders say some riders are putting families at risk.
Now, there are new rules for where and how fast you can ride and why police are about to shift from warnings to tickets, with fines up to $500.
Last summer, Fenton City Councilwoman Tracy Bottecelli says patio areas turned into high-speed racetracks.
“Fenton is becoming pretty known for all of its outdoor eating venues and its walkability,” Bottecelli said. “We were out having dinner and these young boys just, I mean, they were going probably 40 miles per hour on the sidewalk and just cross the street and zip down sidewalk to the park.”
That experience inspired the city to set up an e-bike safety committee last fall. They partnered with police and the local bike shop Cycle Fit to draft ordinance 7-30.
“We each went out and gathered various ordinances from cities comparable in size to us, Coldwater, South Lyon, Kalamazoo, Traverse City,” Bottecelli said. “Our goal was to by Spring when it would be e-bike season again, or scooters, mopeds, what have you, that we would get an ordinance in place and we did. The ordinance was approved in may of 2026.“
The ordinance, which will be codified this fall, bans sidewalk riding, requires headlights at night, and forces riders to yield to pedestrians.
Underage riders on pedal-less “peg bikes” are also banned.
Bottecelli said the police department spent the summer focusing on education over tickets.
“When they see kids not paying attention to pedestrian crossings or racing through sidewalks, they’re going to talk to them about, we have this ordinance on the books now, and these are the things that you’re going to have to be aware of,” Bottecelli said.
That grace period is ending. Failing to follow the ordinance could end with a fine of up to $500, and any repeat violations or crash that causes an injury could be a misdemeanor.
“A 15-year-old boy or girl on this bike that doesn’t know how powerful it can be, and since the committee is formed, we’ve noticed there have been quite a few accidents in various communities across the state,” Bottecelli said.
She hopes the combination of the new rules and common courtesy will keep streets safe for everyone.
“We want to encourage families to be downtown and enjoy family time. And if they have e-bikes or scooters and that sort of thing with their kids, we don’t really want to discourage that. But we also want to keep everyone safe,” Bottecelli said.
Now that school is back in session, the councilwoman tells TV5 the city is sending those new rules directly to families.
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