Northwest Municipal Conference to host summit on e-bike and e-scooter policies Sept. 22

The Northwest Municipal Conference is organizing a summit aimed at providing greater clarity and coherence among its member suburbs’ e-bike and e-scooter regulations on Monday, Sept. 22.

Though many have already discussed this growing transportation phenomenon, Executive Director Mark Fowler said about 20 of the conference’s 43 municipal members have yet to take any binding action on regulations.

The summit is being designed to enable early adopters of local laws, as well as the Chicago-based law firm Elrod Friedman, to share their experiences with cities and villages still grappling with the matter.

“This is the perfect issue for the conference to be involved with,” Fowler said. “We’re also looking to bring some certainty to people who own e-bikes and e-scooters.”

Representatives can attend remotely, but organizers hope most presenters will appear in person at the agency’s Des Plaines offices.

Hoffman Estates is one suburb still debating the topic. Village board members seem split on regulatory action, though debate this week showed a level of consensus that could come to a vote on Monday.

The question of holding off another week to attend the summit first was raised. But Mayor Bill McLeod said any law passed in advance can be amended if an idea at the summit is persuasive.

“Let’s put something in place that we can enforce instead of just waiting,” he said. “I think these things are dangerous. I see it every day at a stop sign in front of my house. And they just go right through everything. And they’re not looking. We’re endangering people’s lives. Life safety is what the village does.”

Prospect Heights officials are also preparing to adopt e-bike and e-scooter regulations at the city council’s Sept. 25 meeting. Leaders there were concerned about the growing patchwork of rules throughout the suburbs.

“So the state is actually looking at this to try to get some uniformity,” City Administrator Peter Falcone told the city council. “Because you figure any of our children residents who are going to Hersey (High School) on a scooter, they go through not only Prospect Heights but Arlington Heights as well. And if they’re going to Heffy’s Hot Dogs, they’re going into Mount Prospect.”