Two-wheel talk
Silver Creek residents voice e-bike concerns
AP Photo Electric bicycles, known as e-bikes, have brought safety concerns in the region in recent months.
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Anna Frederickson, a resident of Silver Creek, voiced concerns about e-bikes at the last two meetings of the Village Board.
AP Photo Electric bicycles, known as e-bikes, have brought safety concerns in the region in recent months.
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Anna Frederickson, a resident of Silver Creek, voiced concerns about e-bikes at the last two meetings of the Village Board.
Trending
SILVER CREEK -- With school about to begin, residents of the village of Silver Creek have voiced their concerns at the last two Village Board meetings about the dangers of children riding e-bikes in the village.
The topic first came up in early August, as Anna Frederickson sparked a discussion with several residents after bringing up an accident regarding an e-bike in another city. Frederickson said she has witnessed children riding e-bikes from Silver Creek Central School down Burgess Street.
"When school starts, what do you think is going to happen? They are going to have more of these. Parents go out and buy these things for these kids," Frederickson said. "There's not a place where they should be riding them with no license and no responsibility."
Several residents engaged in debate regarding the matter in early August. One resident said the topic is not an e-bike issue, but an issue on parenting as a whole. That resident said that he allows his child to use an e-bike, and while he is clear about what is and is not allowed, he has witnessed other children being more reckless than his child is.
Referencing that discussion, Frederickson brought up the topic again in mid-August at the latest meeting. She said, "He made it clear that e-bikes are here, and we might just as well get used to it."
Frederickson, a regular guest at meetings throughout the past two years, said that accidents involving e-bikes and vehicles can be incredibly dangerous. As reported by the OBSERVER on Aug. 17, in New York City so far this year, 12 people have been killed while riding e-bikes. Another nine have been killed while riding stand-up e-scooters. Only three have been killed while riding regular pedal bicycles. Last year, those figures were 17 dead on e-bikes, six from e-scooters and four on regular bikes.
Frederickson said of the resident who defended e-bikes at the previous meeting, "I hope, for his sake, he is never involved in one."
Village resident Michael Shearer said at the recent meeting, "You have to be 16 or older to ride an e-bike, first of all, and I can tell you, I've seen a bunch of kids that are nowhere near 16 on those. We don't have a local police presence. You can have all the restrictions you want, but if you can't enforce it ... you're still going to have the same issues."
Shearer also spoke about safety concerns of kids driving golf carts in the village. He said he has witnessed multiple young girls riding a golf cart around the village without seatbelts.
"There's nothing you can do because there is no local police presence," Shearer said.
Frederickson urged the Village Board to come up with strict guidelines at the local level to regulate the issue. Mayor Kathy Tampio said the Village is waiting to see what the State does on the matter, and if the guidelines are not strict enough, the Village could look to be more restrictive.
Eight different bills were introduced to the State Legislature in 2026 regarding e-bikes, but only one bill passed both the Assembly and Senate this year, with Governor Kathy Hochul to decide if lights will be required for e-bikes and e-scooters. The New York City Council is reviewing 17 different bills dealing with e-bikes and e-scooters, with a public hearing scheduled for late September.