A push for improved e-scooter and e-bike safety is gaining pace in Shellharbour. Photo: @maxbelchenko, Envato.
The time for talking is over for Shellharbour City Council, which has backed immediate steps to improve e-bike and e-scooter safety across the city.
At the 27 May council meeting, councillors unanimously endorsed a safety report focused on creating better signage, future path upgrades and a public education campaign to improve how e-bikes and e-scooters are used.
The move comes amid rising community concerns over safety on shared paths, with complaints and near misses prompting the need for immediate action.
It follows a motion put forward by Councillor Rob Petreski at last month’s meeting for a report to be created.
Cr Petreski welcomed how quickly it was created and the recommendations it outlined.
“Our community expects us to do more than just talk about things and write reports,” he said.
“They want us to act, and this report was always intended to be the first step in potential action.
“That doesn’t mean we act alone and that doesn’t mean we do everything ourselves, but it means we have some kind of basis to then go forward and seek help with certain things.”
Cr Petreski said electric devices were quickly becoming a part of everyday life, but the problem was many residents felt unsafe on some footpaths and shared spaces.
He said the report showed numerous accidents, near misses, and 87 complaints recorded since January 2024, admitting he also personally received emails and comments on the street from people.
While the report identified hotspots in the Shellharbour LGA – the coastal paths along Warilla Beach, Reddall Reserve, Shell Cove Waterfront and Shellharbour foreshore, and their surrounding paths – Cr Petreski said it was an LGA-wide and statewide issue.
In the recent NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into e-mobility, the State Government response acknowledged the difficulties councils face under current legislation.
It recommended changes to the Roads Act and road rules to better manage the safe use of the devices.
Cr Petreski said he wanted the council to write to Shellharbour MP Anna Watson, who is also the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Transport and Roads, to ask what she could do for the community.
“That includes tougher reinforcement, mandatory rider education and proper safety standards for e-mobility devices, which is part of that State Government report,” he said.
“One thing we can do is review our footpath master plan.
“Unfortunately, the standards that were once considered to be acceptable for footpaths are clearly no longer adequate.”
He said he would also like to see education campaigns at the key locations identified in the report to help change behaviour.
“It’s about changing behaviour and that’s not an easy road,” he said.
“It’s not going to happen overnight but we need to start somewhere and I believe this is where we start.”
Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said the council was already working closely with NSW Police and Transport for NSW, which had pledged their support.
“We’ll continue to push for clearer laws and stronger public education so the community knows what’s legal, what’s safe and what’s expected,” Cr Homer said.
He said it was a big-ticket item that required state and federal funding.
“We do need to spend a lot of time discussing who’s going to fund this, because it seems that adjustments to our public infrastructure, education campaigns throughout the city and a unified state-led approach is absolutely necessary,” he said.
“Because if someone lives in Shellharbour, and if you go out there alone and give regulation, and you suddenly move to a neighbouring LGA and it’s not a unified approach, it just won’t work.”
Cr Kellie Marsh said she had concerns the issue was going to be another cost shift from state to local government.
“While we can sit here and talk about what someone else could or what someone else should do, I think we should be looking at what can we do and what can we do now?” Cr Marsh said.
She said that included gaining permission to share Transport for NSW safety information brochures through social media and school newsletters.
The council resolved to write to Transport for NSW and advocate to undertake education in Shellharbour schools, publish Transport for NSW safety brochures in school newsletters, and write to Ms Watson seeking assistance for funding.
For more information on e-bikes and motorised wheel devices, visit Transport for NSW’s website on e-bikes and e-scooters.
