King County will install new signs showing banned motos, ATVs and high-speed e-bikes

King County Parks has launched a new public awareness campaign to emphasize that while Class 1 and 2 e-bikes and electric foot scooters are allowed on county shared use trails, motorcycles (gas or electric), mopeds, ATVs and Class 3 e-bikes are not allowed. Basically, if it has a gas motor of any kind or an electric motor capable of powering the device beyond 20 mph, it is not allowed to be used on a King County trail even users are traveling below the county's 15 mph speed limit.

The campaign includes new signs outlining the prohibitions:

These are not new rules, but the rise in popularity of fast e-motos, scooters, unicycles and other electric devices with top speeds well beyond 20 mph has become a growing source of complaints and conflicts. King County Sheriff's Office deputies will also be out issuing warnings, according the press release:

King County Sheriff's Office deputies assigned to King County Parks are prioritizing educating the public about the dangers of exceeding the 15-mph speed limit, especially when trails are crowded. During this initial education period, deputies will focus on outreach and warnings. King County Parks is also posting signs on trails to show which vehicles are prohibited.

Law enforcement on King County trails has a checkered past. In the early teens, there was an officer to used to ticket people on the Burke-Gilman Trail in Kenmore who entered the crosswalk after the pedestrian countdown had begun. Technically under the wording of the law people are only supposed to start crossing when the walk signal is shown, but everybody treats the countdown as a timer letting you know how much time you have left to get across. This is especially true if you are on a bike. The result was a bunch of tickets and frustrated people and zero increases in public safety. It's not clear how to enforce these moto rules fairly since illegal motos and high-powered scooters often look very similar to their legal counterparts. Maybe they could focus on a few easily-identifiable and popular models (there are no trail-legal Surrons, for example). They could perhaps use radar, but then they might get a bunch of people out on the same training ride they have done without incident for years. They could maybe focus only on people going faster than 20 without moving their feet? Crackdowns like these very often lead to biased enforcement, as we saw with enforcement of King County's old bicycle helmet law. For these reasons, Seattle Bike Blog does not generally support police enforcement of basic trail rules.

It's messed up that it's so easy for people to buy devices that are illegal to ride on public streets and paths, and the state of the market leaves lawmakers and agencies in a tough spot as they try to set and enforce reasonable and safe rules.

Though the King County press release does not mention it, the issue has been in the spotlight nationally after a high-profile double-fatality collision in New York City in which a person on a high-speed foot scooter crashed into a person on a bicycle on the Queensboro Bridge path (Caution: The linked story contains disturbing details). In that collision, the rider's Blade GT II scooter is advertised as going zero to 53 in 3.9 seconds," which is not something that a device operated on a biking and walking trail should be able to do. The lack of regulation of the federal level has left states to piecemeal together their own regulations. I don't even know what the legal definition of a 50+ mph foot scooter would be in Washington State because the law doesn't seem to even consider that such a thing would exist. It's not an electric motorized foot scooter" because those are limited to 20 mph. Gordon Smith, an owner of Amped Adventure shop in Lake Forest Park, pointed out to Seattle Bike Blog that while he agrees that it makes sense for the state to clarify the laws around e-motos, the state also needs to include scooters and electric unicycles in the effort. Much like legislators did in the 2026 session with the e-bike definitions, the legal definitions of motorized foot scooter" and electric personal assistive mobility device" (covering things like Segways and Solowheels, not accessibility devices) likely also need updating to clarify that high-speed devices do not count if the 20 mph limit can be trivially bypassed.

Amid all this focus on crackdowns and restrictions, people should also consider that there is clearly demand for using electric motorized devices that sit somewhere between an e-bike or e-scooter and a freeway-ready motorcycle, and regulations could actually help manufacturers and sellers. Without rules on power output or top speed there is a race to be the fastest and most powerful device on the market regardless of safety and responsibility. With proper regulations, companies could instead compete on price, range and quality as has happened in the e-bike market where nearly all the bikes have the same 20 mph top speed and 750-Watt power limit. There are plenty of places in the world with high rates of medium-power scooter/moto usage, and more people riding small electric vehicles would be very energy and space efficient. There could be a lot of upsides if the state can establish responsible vehicle standards and if the public can develop a culture of safe and licensed on-street operation.

However, trails are for biking, walking and other activities that are compatible with biking and walking. Multiple levels of government have drawn the line at devices with 20 mph top speeds, which is a cruising speed achievable by a significant percentage of pedal bike riders. Just because a bike can go 20 doesn't mean people will always go 20, but it limits the level of speeding possible. Bike lane speed limits are the same as the roadway, but most places limit their use to e-scooters and class 1 or 2 e-bikes.

In practice, things are always going to be a little fuzzy. For example, someone riding a class 3 e-bike capable of being powered up to 28 mph may feel safer riding at normal bike speed in a bike lane or trail rather than a busy and fast street even though they aren't technically allowed there. So long as they go a responsible speed, it's silly to get too worked up about the speed their bike might be capable of going. But getting buzzed by someone going 30+ on a bike path is extremely unsafe, leading to understandable calls for a crackdown as we are seeing here.