Cranberry Township police planning e-bike crackdown

Law enforcement in a Butler County community is taking action to keep people safe as they're seeing more and more kids riding electric bikes on the roads.

Cranberry Township Police Lt. William Ahlgren said as electric bikes, e-motos, and electric scooters are becoming more prevalent, they're becoming bigger problems, especially this summer with kids out of school.

"They would go riding down two-lane roadways to the store, just waiting for something bad to happen," Ahlgren said. "We're actually getting a lot of dangerous episodes on the roads with them, near misses in our parks, on the trails, and we're getting some actual damage to some of our parks with kids riding in areas they shouldn't be."

Previously, the department focused on educating kids about where these bikes and scooters can be operated, but now, they're planning enforcement.

"We're seeing so many kids out there riding these bikes that they're not even allowed to be riding them period, and you know they're putting themselves at risk," Ahlgren said.

It could lead to impounding a vehicle, along with citations and fines.

"Regular citations getting close to $200 right now and then depending on where they're riding them and what they're doing with them, if it's committing some criminal mischief with them, riding them on somebody's property and damaging property, that could go even higher," Ahlgren said.

Parents can also be held responsible for their children's actions, so Ahlgren said they encourage parents to speak with their kids about safe riding to avoid a tragedy.

"It'd be horrific for somebody to have a collision with one of these young kids on a bike or a scooter when they're not supposed to be out on the road. No one's expecting them, and you know something tragic happens," Ahlgren said.

Municipalities can enact further restrictions if they want, but so far, Cranberry has yet to do so.