eBike Popularity Increases Traffic on Trails

e-Biking has grown exponentially since the Pandemic and the already overcrowded multi-use trails in Colorado are about to get a whole new influx of riders.  2024 will see 2+ million new e-Bikes. In 2025, it raises to 4 million new e-Bikes/year.

It’s a wonderful recreational activity and environmentally friendly alternative transit option that can help reduce single occupancy vehicle trips, road congestion, as well as our carbon footprint by reducing CO and CO2 emissions.

As e-Biking has become more popular on Boulder County trails, so have close encounters/”near miss” Incidents with cyclist, e-Bikers, e-Scooters and pedestrians.

Driving an e-Bike going 20+ MPH is now illegal within Boulder city limits, where the actual speed limit is 15 mph (although not posted).

e-Bikes going way too fast and not warning others as they approach from behind will result in even more crashes than last year (32 crashes in Boulder in 2022).

Many eBike owners and rental users are relatively new to modern day cycling and the commonly known rules that most cyclists follow instinctively.  Some simply do not know or understand the etiquette associated with sharing a multi-use path with many users.  Some do whatever they want regardless.

This portal is dedicated to raising awareness about eBike Safety and Etiquette, provide a forum for collective feedback on the topics and offer signage and marketing support to help others share the safety message with their communities. 

The goal is to help prevent upcoming crashes by making people more aware of how to share the multi-use/bike paths with multiple users knowing that the number of e-Bike users on our 8-foot-wide bike paths will double in 2024.

Our outdoor signage program allows communities to provide e-Bike Safety & Etiquette info, up to date e-bike trail info and a QR code interface to Report an Incident.  We need to start tracking where conflicts are occurring to address the issues.  Perhaps widen multi-use trails to help avoid crashes…