The Hailey City Council on Monday approved the first reading of an ordinance that would make reckless e-bike operation a misdemeanor charge, furthering a valley-wide effort to address complaints about e-bike use.
Hailey’s proposed ordinance follows a similar June decision by the Ketchum City Council that made the reckless operation of e-bikes a misdemeanor. Hailey’s ordinance would also create a misdemeanor charge for those found guilty of three violations of other elements of the ordinance, including speed limit and helmet-use laws.
Idaho law states that a person guilty of a misdemeanor faces a jail sentence of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000 or both. E-bike law violations in Hailey are currently considered infractions and impose a fine of up to $300, the Express previously reported.
While both ordinances are independent, the Hailey and Ketchum ordinances reflect a valley-wide push to regulate the use of e-bikes. In April, both cities in collaboration with the Blaine County Recreation District agreed to pay Boise-based Jacobs Engineering $41,637 to draft an ordinance governing electric-vehicle travel on public rights of way, including the Wood River Trail, with the cost of the contract split between the three.
Hailey must approve three readings of the proposed ordinance before it becomes law. If passed, Hailey’s ordinance would require all device operators and passengers under the age of 18 to wear a helmet when using an e-bike. The City Council clarified that, while recommended, minors would not legally be required to wear a helmet while riding non-motorized bikes.
Councilwoman Kaz Thea said at the meeting that she was in favor of requiring across-the-board helmet use for minors. Councilman Juan Martinez, however, was concerned that minors who forget their helmets would be unnecessarily penalized. Ultimately all council members agreed to exclude language requiring helmets for non-motorized use.
A November recommendation by Hailey Police Chief Steve England to eliminate speed limits on the multi-use path to work around the difficulty of using radar to track e-bike speed was removed from this draft of the ordinance in favor of maintaining the city’s current 20 mile-per-hour speed limit.
Other requirements include operating in a “reasonable and prudent” manner, traveling no more than two riders abreast, traveling with the appropriate number of riders per bike, wearing proper gear for nighttime identification, as well as other basic safety stipulations.
Three violations of these regulations would lead to a misdemeanor charge.
Reckless use, which would prompt a misdemeanor charge on first offense, is defined as “carelessly and heedlessly, or without due caution and circumspection, or at such a speed or in any other manner as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property.”
During public comment, a local high school student emphasized the importance of having access to expedient non-vehicular transportation options when commuting between valley cities. A restrictive speed limit, he said, could potentially make commuters late and negate the incentive to use alternative non-car transportation.
“If you’re in a rush, I think you need to be able to go pretty quick,” he said.
Hailey resident Ellen Glaccum supported the ordinance but said licensing should be a requirement to operate motorized bikes.
“I have seen children, little kids, 12 and 13 [year-olds] driving on roadways,” she said. “It’s just an accident waiting to happen.”
Fritz Haemmerle, a former Hailey mayor, said that while he supported the ordinance, Idaho law already has statutes regulating e-bike use. He reiterated statements he made during a November meeting that Hailey should have been, and needs to, enforce existing law and the regulations laid out in the new ordinance.
England said in November that if the ordinance was approved, the Hailey Police Department would add extra patrols on the multiuse paths. He said that enforcement would prove difficult without officers on bikes at the time of alleged reckless operation.
Assistant Chief Todd Peck said on Monday that such patrols will be easier in the summer months but that officers will patrol the Wood River Trail on bikes when possible.
Asked why the Hailey Police Department does not consistently patrol the trail, England stated, “To perform bike patrol we prefer to have two officers riding together, so regardless we would not have a structured bike patrol schedule, but instead have officers on OT or when staffing permits to provide bike patrol services to our community.”
BCRD Executive Director Mark Davidson during public comment described the Wood River Trail as a democratic space intended for many uses. He said the ordinance was a good step forward for everyone.
“One of the most important things we can do, and we’ve been talking about this for some time, is to create a unified county ordinance and you all passing this ordinance is the first step in getting us there,” said Davidson. “We can always amend, update and improve [the ordinance] as we go.”
Hailey City Planner Emily Brooks told the Express on Tuesday that there were no plans currently to pass a single county-wide ordinance. She explained that it is more likely that each jurisdiction would create independent but similar ordinances governing the use of bikes.
City Administrator Lisa Horowitz pointed out that the city of Sun Valley is also working on its own e-bike ordinance.
In other Hailey news
Robyn Davis, director of the Hailey Community Development Department, presented the department’s annual report. In 2025 the city of Hailey issued 214 residential permits and 61 building permits. Also in 2025, 37 new businesses opened and 22 businesses closed in Hailey.Mark Sindell, principal at Boise-, Seattle- and Los Angeles-based design firm GGLO, gave an update on the Bullion Pathway Project, a project to redevelop a four-block stone walkway on the north side of West Bullion Street. Sindell said that the goal is to put the project up for bidding in the spring and begin construction in the summer of this year. 
