The spring and summer months might seem like the perfect time to make the switch from a commuter car to an e-bike, and cities around the Mountain West are looking for ways to make it easier. In 2022, the city of Denver began offering rebates of up to $1,700 for residents wanting a new e-bike, and now the rest of Colorado is looking to follow suit.
Salt Lake City is also taking note. In her 2024 Fiscal year budget proposal, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall requested $230,000 to address air quality, including an e-bike rebate program.
The executive director of Bike Utah, Jenn Oxborrow, said it's been inspiring to see the response to Denver's rebate pilot program. It's something she would like to see happen statewide in Utah.
"We looked at a lot of pilot work on e-bike incentive programs out of California and also Colorado and in places that are structured similarly to Salt Lake City or Provo. We also looked at working with [the Utah Transit Authority] on how to make some of their [train] cars more bikeable-friendly, so we can get more bikes on or store them more safely."
While safety and having more places for cyclists to ride are factors, there's another barrier in the form of money. The cost of an e-bike can fall anywhere from $1,000 to the tens of thousands.
Oxborrow said her family gets a lot of use out of their e-bike, especially running errands around town, like going to the grocery store or work, and even the dog can tag along, “but those bikes are really expensive.”
Outside of the Wasatch Front, it's unclear what, if any, financial support cities would be able to offer residents who want an e-bike. While rebates might help with the cost, there are still other barriers standing in the way of an e-bike society.
In Lehi, the current focus is on safety.
The city boasts trail systems such as the Jordan River Parkway, the Lehi Rail Trail and the Murdock Canal Trail for cyclists to enjoy. But Planning Division Manager Mike West said it still has work to do to create more bike-ability.
"We believe that more people will use biking or walking or scooters, wherever it may be, if it's generally safe and convenient. So it has to be safe. That's got to be a baseline."
He said two projects are in the works to create protected bike lanes in areas of town: one on 700 South from 2300 West to 500 West, and another would run along 500 West from 700 South to Pioneer Crossing. These two lanes will be more of a "pilot project" to see how the community adapts.
"The protected bike lanes that there's a lot of areas in town where the trails are very difficult to get because there's just no property left. It's all developed,” said West.
Right now, the wide roads are currently “kind of a safety issue,” but it’s possible the city could use that extra width “to put it in some of these protected style bike lanes,” slowing traffic and making people more comfortable.
Oxborrow agreed that good infrastructure is just as important as cost, but when it comes down to it, the goal is to have a state where everyone should have access to biking regardless of age, ability, race or income.
"I think we forget to talk sometimes about the importance of social justice and peace. We have a lot of immigrant families here. We have a lot of people who rely on their bikes to get to school and work every day,” she said. “And sometimes that bike can be the difference between getting to a job or not."
