Storm Lake seeks public input on e-bike and scooter rules

Storm Lake is asking residents to help shape possible e-bike and scooter rules after a fresh scooter crash and a year of complaints about riders darting through traffic, riding double and ignoring stop signs. The discussion could change where electric bikes and scooters can be ridden, where they must yield, and when officers can write citations in Storm Lake.

The issue surfaced in the Storm Lake City Council on March 17, 2025, when Councilwoman Maria Ramos said she had received multiple complaints over the previous months about e-bike safety and traffic problems. Ramos said residents had described riders who seemed to come out of nowhere, lacked signals or helmets, and could cause accidents. Assistant City Manager Dave Derragon told the council that Iowa law already gives low-speed e-bikes broad access where bicycles are allowed, while Police Chief Chris Cole said riders still must stop at stop signs and officers generally have to witness a violation to cite it.

That legal framework matters because current state law already covers much of the riding rules in town. Iowa Code 321.235B allows low-speed e-bikes on streets, roadways, shoulders, bike lanes, bikeways and multi-use paths where bicycles are permitted. Class 3 low-speed e-bikes cannot exceed the posted speed limit, or 20 mph where no limit is posted, on bicycle lanes or multi-use paths. State law also requires class 3 e-bikes to have a speedometer and bars anyone under 16 from operating one.

Storm Lake’s own code, as discussed by city leaders, already restricts cyclists from riding on sidewalks in the central business district. The council also talked about speed-limit signs along the Lake Trail and more education about bicycle safety and etiquette, a sign that the city may focus not only on penalties but also on clearer expectations for riders, walkers and drivers who share the trail and nearby streets.

The pressure intensified again on May 21, 2026, when the Storm Lake Police Department warned that more children were riding scooters and e-bikes, often double-riding, ignoring stop signs and failing to obey traffic laws. That warning followed a crash the prior Friday, when a child was struck by a vehicle in Storm Lake after failing to yield at a stop sign while riding a scooter. The child suffered minor injuries. Iowa’s electric standup scooter law defines those devices as under 100 pounds with two or three wheels, handlebars and a floorboard for a standing rider, and says riders on bikeways or sidewalks must yield to pedestrians and human-powered devices and give an audible signal before passing.

Because state law says local bicycle ordinances generally apply to electric scooters unless they conflict with state law, Storm Lake’s next steps could decide whether the city simply educates riders or adds local limits that make citations easier on the Lake Trail, in the business district and on other shared routes across Buena Vista County.