DANVILLE A new proposal would keep electric bikes, e-motos and scooters out of the saddle on the town's park paths and trails, but stops short of banning them outright, instead asking riders to dismount and walk their devices through pedestrian spaces.
The June 1 memo, addressed to City Attorney Rob Ewing, Development Services Director Diane Friedmann, and town traffic engineer Soren Fajeau, is notable for who signed it: Danville Safety Advocates, the group behind earlier sidewalk-restriction efforts, joined this time by E-Bike Access, an advocacy group for riders. Their pitch is framed as a middle path. Pedestrians get priority in parks; riders keep access, losing only a few minutes to walking. "Walk It, Don't Ride It on Park Paths," the memo sums up, "unless the Town has specifically posted an exception."
What the rule would do
The proposed rule would bar riding or operating any powered two-wheeler (e-bikes, e-motos, mopeds) along with e-scooters on town-managed park paths, trails and pedestrian-priority recreational routes. Riders could still walk their devices through, and use manufacturer "walk-assist" modes, which move a bike at roughly 3 to 4 mph, but only while dismounted and walking beside it. Sitting, coasting, pedaling or throttling would all count as riding.
Wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other assistive devices would be exempt, and the town could post exceptions on specific segments where path design or connectivity makes shared use sensible.
Not a ban, the authors insist
Crucially, the authors stress, the ordinance would not bar e-bikes from Danville itself. Riders would retain the town's roughly 59 lane miles of Class I paths, bike lanes and bike routes. The memo anticipates the obvious objection, that the rule is "anti-e-bike," and answers it directly: the restriction is about location, not about the device. As one section puts it, a heavy device moving faster than a walking pace creates the same conflict on a park path whether it is a Class 1 e-bike or an illegal e-moto.
A survey from the proposal's backers
The advocates point to a survey they commissioned, the Danville Sidewalk and Park Path E-Bike Survey, which drew 734 responses. By their tally, 88 percent of respondents reported feeling unsafe because of an e-bike, e-moto or scooter on a sidewalk or path, 87 percent said they would back an ordinance restricting the devices from neighborhood sidewalks and park paths, and 87 percent opposed allowing the devices on those surfaces at all. Pedestrian safety, named by 89 percent, and rider speed, named by 84 percent, topped the list of concerns, followed by the safety of dog walkers.
Because the survey was conducted by the proposal's backers rather than an independent body, its figures reflect the views of those motivated to respond. But the open-ended comments attached to it, 65 in all, give the dry percentages a human edge.
In residents' words
The appendix reads like a logbook of near-misses, most of them at Osage Station Park and along the Iron Horse Trail. "I am 70. Almost killed on the trail by idiot kid on e bike," one resident wrote. "Called police and they told me there is nothing they can do." Another, struck near Revel restaurant, described a young rider who tried to squeeze past on a crowded sidewalk: "Gashed my hand. He tried to go around me but no room and gave no warning."
A self-identified doctor warned of "traumatic brain injuries and death, due to unsafe practices and inexperience." A grandparent recounted walking with young grandchildren who "were within a few inches of being hit." Others described feeling hunted: riders who "high tail it out so you can't describe them," packs of middle-schoolers circling pedestrians, kids who "don't even say 'passing on your left,' just zip by."
A recurring theme is dread of a fatality. "Someone is going to be killed if this isn't stopped and enforced," one comment read. Another framed it as a liability waiting to land on the town: these devices, the resident wrote, "are going to kill a child, not the child using the bike, but an innocent child they run into by accident. Then, the city will be sued."
Not every comment favored a hard line. Several residents drew a distinction between courteous riders and reckless ones, and at least one worried the rule could push compliant young e-bike riders onto the shoulders of busy streets. The most common thread, though, was speed, the absence of any warning, and the youth of many riders.
The safety case
The argument rests heavily on physics and vulnerability. A heavy powered device, the memo contends, can be quiet, quick to accelerate and slow to stop. By its estimate, an e-moto traveling 20 mph needs roughly 130 to 180 feet to halt once a rider reacts and brakes. For a senior struck from behind, the authors warn, the result can be fractures, head trauma, lost independence or worse. They argue a posted speed limit alone would not fix the problem, since even 15 mph can knock an older walker down, and speed is difficult to enforce in practice.
Young riders at the center
Much of the urgency comes from young riders. The memo cites two local incidents: a 13-year-old who reportedly struck and injured a resident near Revel restaurant in May 2025, and an 11-year-old on a Rad Power e-moto who collided with an SUV exiting a driveway at the Town & Country Shopping Center in December 2024. Neither occurred on a park path, the authors acknowledge, but both, they argue, illustrate the same underlying conflict between fast powered devices and pedestrian spaces.
The resident comments echo the worry, often pointing at parents as much as children. "E-bike penalties for kids need to be much steeper. Parents need to be held accountable," one wrote. Several suggested 16 as a minimum riding age; others called for licensing or impounding the devices outright.
Which parks are covered
If adopted, the rule would cover Danville's marquee recreational sites, among them Sycamore Valley, Osage Station, Oak Hill, Hap Magee Ranch and Diablo Vista parks, the downtown Town Green, and the Diablo Road and Barbara Hale trail corridors, with staff directed to confirm the final list before adoption.
Enforcement and precedent
A central selling point is enforcement. Under a location-based rule, the memo argues, an officer need not measure a motor's wattage, inspect software settings or judge whether a device has been modified, the kinds of questions that have bedeviled e-bike enforcement elsewhere. The only question is whether a powered device is being ridden where riding isn't allowed.
The authors propose an "education-first" rollout: public notice, signage at park entrances, outreach to schools and parents, warnings, and parent notification when minors are involved, with citations reserved for repeat or reckless violations.
Danville would not be first. Burlingame restricts electric mobility devices in parks under the slogan "E-bikes may be walked"; San Anselmo bars motorized vehicles from Memorial Park with fines from $100 to $500; and a Danville homeowners association, Diablo West, already prohibits powered vehicles on its greenbelts under a $250 penalty.
What's next
Signed by attorney Bob Mittelstaedt of E-Bike Access and Danville Safety Advocates co-chairs Alan Kalin and Bruce Bilodeau, the memo asks the Council to direct staff to draft an ordinance. No vote has been scheduled.
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