BELLEFONTE — The rules governing e-bikes and similar devices in Pennsylvania can be hard to untangle.

To help residents and officials better understand them, Bellefonte Borough Council this week voted unanimously to hold two e-bike training sessions: one for borough staff, council and police and a second open to the public. The decision followed a presentation on state regulations and safety guidelines for small electric and pedal-assisted vehicles by a statewide nonprofit.

Samantha Pearson, healthy communities program manager for the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, walked council members through the basics of the state code. Pearson works with the WalkWorks Program, a partnership between the Pa. Department of Health and the Downtown Center that aims to boost physical activity and improve public health through environmental design. The program promotes safe opportunities for walking, biking and using wheelchairs to reach everyday destinations, including transit stops, schools and workplaces, and also provides education and outreach about e-bikes.

“Everyone around the country — and even around the world — is dealing with changes in bicycle technology right now,” Pearson said, noting that communities have increasingly had to address the use of devices like e-bikes and electric scooters on their streets and sidewalks since the pandemic.

Laws vary widely from state to state, and Pennsylvania’s rules are among the most restrictive.

“The state of New Jersey just passed what some consider to be a very draconian set of laws related to e-bikes,” Pearson said. “What they have proposed actually is what Pennsylvania already has.”

She added that Pennsylvania’s laws are particularly incoherent and subject to legislative review, meaning they could change in the near future.

The difficulty navigating the rules is compounded by a lack of state funding.

“There’s literally no funding for education or enforcement of this specific topic at the state level,” Pearson said.

To clarify the regulations, she directed council to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s micromobility fact sheet, available online at www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/fact_sheets/mm_fact_sheet.cfm, and used it as a reference while walking them through the rules in detail.

Some of the key provisions include that electric scooters and other standing battery-operated vehicles cannot be legally operated on public roadways or sidewalks, and that riders must be at least 16 to use electric scooters, motorized bicycles, motor scooters and e-bikes. Bikes and e-bikes may only be ridden on sidewalks outside business districts, and helmets are recommended for all riders but are required for people under 12 on Segways and bikes and under 21 on motorized scooters, pedalcycles and electric scooters.

After the presentation, council member Jon Eaton stressed the importance of reviewing local ordinances before offering public education on e-bikes.

“Before you take the input… review what your ordinances are within the community relative to where bicycles can be,” he said. “Because I have heard various people say that bicycles can be or can’t be in Talleyrand Park,” he added, noting questions exist even among council about which sidewalks in town allow bicycle use.

“That is going to greatly impact whatever ambiguity is in this sheet.”

Under the borough’s general parks and recreation regulations, bicycles, pedal cycles, skateboards, e-vehicles and roller blades are prohibited in Talleyrand Park except where signage indicates otherwise. The same restriction applies to the waterfront sidewalk between High and Lamb streets. State rules also prohibit certain electric vehicles in central business districts, which would include Bellefonte’s downtown.

“We should have that out there and clarify that before we have an educational program,” Eaton said. “We should be sure that we don’t generate a problem we have already cured.”

The council unanimously approved moving forward with the e-bike trainings, setting the stage for sessions aimed at both borough officials and the public. Council is expected to review the rules before the sessions are announced.