Westlake Village is Southern California’s newest major city, drawing out a hardline for using electric bikes in pedestrian spaces.
Earlier this month, Westlake Village City Council unanimously approved a city ordinance that prohibits the use of electronic bikes, electric scooters and “other recreational electric mobility devices” from all sidewalks, parks, trails and fields.
It is still permitted to ride these electric vehicles, and the ordinance does not apply to mobility devices such as electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
Violations of the city ordinance are fined, with the first being $100, rising to $500 in the second, fourth and fourth, with a misdemeanor claim for the fourth.
The E-Bike crackdown is priced from $100-$200 to more than $5,000 amid concerns from public concerns about rising these powerful, rapidly utilized bikes and scooters.
Most concerning is that young riders are tearing up pedestrian parks and trails.
Westlake Village is the newest Southern California city to reevaluate e-bikes and electronic sumoters on the streets. Hermosa Beach passed an emergency ordinance last year that was heavily fined for certain violations. In Orange County, the city of San Clemente worked through its own ordinance plan to address concerns from residents.
Last weekend, the Santa Monica Police Station attacked 12 e-bikes known as “illegal off-highway vehicles.”
The Santa Monica Police Station attacked 12 illegal electronic bikes on July 26, 2025.
“These electric bikes may look legal on the streets, but they are not permitted on public roads, bike paths or sidewalks,” the police department wrote in a social media post. “These vehicles: often exceed 40 mph, have no pedals that can operate, and are not classified as legal electric bikes under California law.”
Santa Monica says that non-rail and roadside electric bikes are also on the rise due to concerns and complaints from the community.
“If the vehicle does not have pedals or meets California e-bike standards, it does not belong to the road,” the police department concluded.
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