In a separate 2019 case, Lowell police dealt with complaints about dangerous bicycle riding.
The Lowell Police Department dealt with complaints about dangerous bicycle riding.
Children biking to school should abide by traffic laws.
Arrests and Summonses in the 2019 Case
One arrest was made on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Three other juveniles were summonsed for disorderly conduct.
Investigators say they are still trying to identify the juveniles involved in a second assault case tied to the pattern of calls. Police asked anyone with photos or video of the incidents to send them to [email protected] as the search continues.
Not Lowell's First Crackdown This Year
This isn't the department's first attempt to rein in reckless riding this year. On Sept. 24, Lowell police carried out a downtown bicycle safety operation, seizing nine e-bikes, four bicycles and one motorized scooter, according to the Lowell Sun. That operation followed weeks of complaints from residents, pedestrians, business owners and drivers about youths weaving through traffic, riding on sidewalks and performing stunts, the newspaper reported.
It also wasn't the department's first such sweep. Back on Aug. 21, 2025, officers seized 10 bicycles during a targeted safety operation, confiscating them from nine juveniles and one adult in Centralville and Downtown Lowell, the Lowell Sun reported at the time. A Lowell resident separately told the city council in September that he had witnessed e-bikes and motorized scooters operating at high speeds on sidewalks, according to Citizen Portal.
A Statewide Pattern Among Police Departments
Lowell is far from alone in grappling with this problem. Falmouth police said they are seeing an increase in unsafe bicycle and e-bike operation, particularly involving juveniles, the Boston Herald reported. Attleboro police told the paper they responded to 27 incidents involving juveniles riding e-bikes in a way that prompted complaints in a single month, May, bringing their total to roughly 143 responses to similar complaints since November 2024.
The surge in incidents around the state has also drawn attention from the governor's office. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced in May that she had filed the Ride Safe Act, legislation intended to regulate e-bikes, mopeds and scooters, according to a statement from Mass.gov. Under existing state law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 1B bars anyone under 16 from operating a motorized bicycle on a public way, and caps its speed at 25 mph, though that provision specifically concerns motorized bicycles rather than every device described as an e-bike or scooter.
Lowell police have also conducted bicycle-safety operations in the city.
