The Grand Island Traffic Safety Committee reviewed New York State e-bike guidance and discussed possible local responses to what members called growing safety issues.

Speaker 3 distributed a brief guide summarizing state law and said local ordinances can fill enforcement gaps, for example by providing officers with authority to impound e-bikes used by operators under 16. Speaker 3 said some nearby jurisdictions have used impoundment and fee schedules as a deterrent and noted an instance reported in Clarence where a person was killed in a parking-lot crash.

"The e bikes are an issue," Speaker 3 said, urging the committee to consider both enforcement and education. He proposed starting with a public-education campaign aimed at parents and students — school outreach, website notices and local ads — while police review enforcement feasibility and options for a local law.

Committee members agreed that education should be an early step and asked the police department to provide input on whether officers could practically enforce additional local restrictions, and whether impoundment or parent liability provisions would be legally and operationally effective in Grand Island.

No local law was adopted; the committee requested a police department review and agreed to consider bringing a recommended ordinance to the town board if enforcement options appeared practicable.