Neenah, Menasha and Fox Crossing have joined forces to enact new rules for the operation of bicycles, electric bikes and electric scooters.
The neighboring communities have developed ordinances to prohibit e-bikes and e-scooters on any public sidewalks, in any city- or village-owned parking ramps, or on any roadway, trail, path or property where a sign is erected indicating that bicycles, e-bikes or e-scooters are prohibited or otherwise restricted.
The fine for a violation in Neenah and Menasha would be $50 for a first offense and $100 for subsequent offenses.
In contrast to the three communities, Appleton allows e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks in all areas except College Avenue between Drew Street and Badger Avenue. Appleton maintains a bike safety webpage that explains its regulations.
Neenah Common Council member William Pollnow Jr. said the new ordinances are intended to address the more egregious situations where e-bike or e-scooter operators are “running 25 to 30 mph on the sidewalk.”
“I’m definitely supportive of this ordinance,” Pollnow said.
The ordinances would require bicyclists and e-bike and e-scooter operators age 16 and younger to wear a helmet to reduce the risk of head injuries.
The fine for a violation of the helmet mandate would be capped at $50, but Neenah Police Chief Aaron Olson said officers wouldn’t be routinely handing out tickets to children for not wearing a helmet. Rather, police intend to use the ordinance as an opportunity for education.
“We have boxes upon boxes of helmets, and our officers will be carrying them, just like they do now,” Olson told The Post-Crescent. “If we see a kid without a helmet, this gives us a reason to stop, make contact and educate them why they should wear a helmet and give them a helmet.”
The Neenah Public Services and Safety backed the ordinances on May 12 on a 3-1 vote. They will be considered by the Common Council on May 20.
Menasha and Fox Crossing are going through a parallel adoption process of their ordinances.
“We all worked together to come up with very similar ordinances so that citizens aren’t confused when they go from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,” Olson said.
Complaints about e-bikes and e-scooters have increased in recent years as the devices have become more popular. Olson said police departments across the country are updating ordinances in response.
In addition to the prohibition of e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks and in municipal parking ramps, Neenah’s ordinance would ban e-bikes and e-scooters on Main Street and West Wisconsin Avenue between West Doty Avenue and Commercial Street.
In that two-block stretch of downtown, which has an abundance of storefronts, e-bikes and e-scooters “must be walked, with the rider off the device, guiding it along by hand while walking alongside,” the ordinance says.
An earlier version of the Neenah ordinance prohibited e-bikes or e-scooters in five other areas – sections of East Wisconsin Avenue, Commercial Street, Winneconne Avenue, Green Bay Road and the Loop the Lake recreational trail – but they were removed in the final version.
“Main Street and Wisconsin is the only place where you have to get off and walk, unless we put up signage elsewhere in the city,” Olson said. “If there’s a section of the Loop the Lake trail where we need to put signage up because of complaints, then we can do that.”
The Neenah, Menasha and Fox Crossing ordinances would prohibit the operation of an e-bike or e-scooter in a reckless or unsafe matter, including:
It also would prohibit children under age 8 from operating an e-bike or e-scooter on city roadways, though a 6- or 7-year-old may do so during daylight hours if accompanied by an adult.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @DukeBehnke.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Rules on e-bikes, mandatory helmets for kids coming to Neenah-Menasha
Reporting by Duke Behnke, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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