E-bike safety growing concern of Menlo Park City School District
The issue of e-bike safety was discussed at the most recent Menlo Park City School District meeting and highlighted in the district newsletter:
“MPCSD has seen a rise in the number of students riding e-bikes to school, particularly Hillview Middle School. Bike safety is part of our schools’ curriculum in elementary and middle school, including free access for Hillview students and parents to the PedalAce safety course. However, as this recent Almanac article illustrates, e-bike safety is a growing concern among communities and schools throughout the region.
“Because student safety is a top priority at MPCSD, Superintendent Kristen Gracia brought the topic of e-bikes to last week’s school board meeting. In attendance were also the School Resource Officers from Atherton and Menlo Park Police Departments, Officer Andruha and Officer Nissen, respectively. Together the cities noted 10 reported incidents of student e-bike accidents, and likely many more unreported ones as well. Both Superintendent Gracia and the SROs believe e-bikes pose a unique risk to middle school students because of the ‘developmental mismatch’ between the performance capability of the bikes and the developmental phase of adolescent brains.
“The school board agreed that we may be now in a place where education is not enough. Board members voiced interest in potentially creating e-bike policy regarding riding and parking them on MPCSD campuses. At the October 23 school board meeting, policy options will be discussed. The district stresses that any policy changes will continue to encourage biking as a healthy and sustainable mode of transportation to school, and that our community’s drivers share the responsibility for making MPCSD streets safe for riders and pedestrians of all ages.”
To attend the October 23 meeting at 6:00 p.m. (in person or via Zoom), find the agenda and Zoom link on the Diligent Community website beginning Monday, October 20, 2025.
InMenlo file photo (c) 2021
