KING COUNTY, Wash. — A major change is coming to urban trails across King County this summer: E-bikes and e-scooters will soon be allowed.
Some concerns are racing through the East Lake Sammamish Trail after the King County Council approved a plan to allow e-bikes and e-scooters on more than 175 miles of urban trails.
“As the e-bikes go along the trail and the speeds are up there's going to be more and more problems and more and more people are going to get injured," said Jim Wolfe.
Wolfe lives along the popular trail. KING 5 first spoke with him two weeks ago after a bicyclist hit and injured a woman. She's still in the hospital, recovering from a serious head injury.
"If the bike that collided with the lady had hit my son, I think it would've been all over,” said Wolfe. “I have a two-year-old. I want him safe on this trail - he's not safe now."
"We never want to see that,” said Claudia Balducci, who represents the King County Council for District 6. “We never want to see people being harmed on our facilities."
Councilmember Balducci represents the Eastside. She acknowledges safety improvements need to be made.
"Signage, education, striping in appropriate places to keep people separate and enforcement overtime," said Balducci.
The county will allow e-bikes and e-scooters that can go up to 20 miles per hour on the trails. But users will need to follow county law that mandates people on wheels not exceed 15 miles per hour.
According to King County documents, the county conducted an online survey back in 2019. More than 2,200 people participated in the survey with 62% in support of allowing e-bikes on trails. The survey revealed the main reasons for support were accessibility and environmental benefits. The main concerns were related to speed and conflict with other users.
"They want to use them to get to work or to get to school or to travel,” said Balducci. “Then this is the way you do it to be out of traffic and to be safe."
"There's no way they're safe,” said Wolfe. “It's like having a motorcycle on this trail.”
This change with e-bikes and e-scooters is expected to go into effect by the end of the month.
E-scooters will not be allowed on East Lake Sammamish and Lake to Sound Trail Segments A and B because the two trails receive federal highway transportation funding.
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