Des Moines is weighing new limits on high-speed electric scooters and similar motorized devices, with city staff drafting language that would bar anything capable of topping 20 mph under motor power alone from public streets, sidewalks and trails. The move comes as newer electric scooters on the market can reach speeds of more than 50 mph, far beyond what the city's current bicycle rules were built to handle.
City staff presented the proposed updates to the city's bicycle and pedestrian ordinances, which trace back to 2012, according to Axios. Des Moines City Engineer Steven Naber said the speed and power of newer scooters raise safety concerns because children and teens may not fully grasp how fast the devices can go, and he said the proposed wording was crafted so it would not hinder typical e-bikes or traditional cyclists. Under the city's existing ordinance, passed as Ordinance No. 15,083 in February 2012, a bicycle is defined broadly enough to include devices with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of one horsepower or less, and riders are currently allowed on public sidewalks as long as they are careful, yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal when passing.
Confusion Between E-Bikes and High-Speed E-Motos
Part of the challenge facing Des Moines officials is that high-speed electric motorcycles, often called e-motos, are frequently confused with regular e-bikes despite behaving more like motorcycles. Iowa state law prohibits high-speed electric motorcycles from operating without a license and registration, though the seed reporting does not spell out how that rule intersects with city-level sidewalk and trail restrictions. That confusion can blur the distinction between conventional e-bikes and faster, heavier devices.
The safety stakes behind the proposal are backed by hospital data. UnityPoint emergency rooms treated 123 patients for e-bike and e-scooter injuries in 2025, and that total had already reached 79 patients in 2026 at the time of reporting, putting the year on pace to surpass the prior record, according to WHO 13. May alone brought a record-high 38 patients to UnityPoint emergency rooms, and of the more than 50 patients treated so far in 2026, 44 were children, the station reported. Hospital officials said injury numbers have climbed every year since 2020.
Injuries Already Outpacing Last Year's Total
Those numbers track with separate reporting from the Des Moines Register, which found that injuries from e-bikes and e-scooters across the metro in the first half of 2026 had already exceeded the total recorded in all of 2025. In Clive, police reported three e-bike crashes over the prior year and three additional crashes involving e-motos or larger electric scooters in just the preceding eight days, with all three resulting in broken bones, per the station's report.
Councilman Carl Voss has pushed the conversation further, supporting a prohibition on all bikes, scooters and skateboards on sidewalks within the city's busiest business districts. He identified Beaverdale, Court Avenue and the East Village as areas where he believes sidewalk riding should be banned outright, warning that outward-swinging business doors create a real risk of collisions with people stepping outside. Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen has said she wants consistent rules across the metro, a goal complicated by the patchwork of approaches neighboring cities have already taken.
A Patchwork of Rules Across the Metro
West Des Moines and Windsor Heights approved new ordinances regulating e-bikes and scooters on October 19, the Des Moines Register reported. West Des Moines will allow low-speed Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes with motors up to 750 watts on sidewalks, trails and streets, while restricting high-speed pedestrian conveyances like high-speed e-scooters to streets only, according to Yahoo News. Windsor Heights, meanwhile, treats e-motos that exceed 39 mph as motorcycles.
Urbandale presented draft changes on July 7 and directed staff to return with an ordinance. Waukee was moving forward in June with a proposal concerning e-motos capable of speeds above 25 mph, per WHO 13's reporting. Newton has taken a different approach entirely, barring electric scooters from city streets while allowing them on residential sidewalks, paved multi-use trails and in public parks, according to the City of Newton. Newton classifies motorized bicycles exceeding 39 mph or carrying motors over 750 watts as mopeds requiring registration, titling and insurance.
No Single Standard, and a State Fix May Be Years Off
That patchwork exists in part because metro-area cities have adopted their own regulations after municipal leaders disagreed over who should coordinate a uniform approach, Axios reported. Rules for electric scooters on sidewalks and multi-use trails vary across the metro.
Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said the state will likely take up the issue during next year's legislative session. For now, Des Moines city staff say they will weigh the city council's suggestions before returning with formal ordinance language, leaving the city's next move — and whether it will align with neighboring suburbs or chart its own course — still to be determined.
