Encinitas has logged 103 e-bike collisions since 2022, and a UC San Diego study published in July points to a root cause that local ordinances alone won't fix: the region lacks the protected bike lanes researchers say prevent crashes.

Of San Diego County's 1,883 miles of bike lanes, only 264 miles are Class I or Class IV, the physically separated types that offer barriers between riders and vehicle traffic, according to KPBS reporting. The remaining 1,216 miles are Class II painted stripes with no physical barrier.

The UC San Diego study, published July 17 in the journal Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open, found e-bike collisions in California rose from two in 2018 to 1,506 in 2024. E-bike riders suffered more moderate-to-severe injuries than traditional cyclists, and children 14 and younger were disproportionately represented among the injured.

Dr. Jay Doucet, the study's lead author, found that communities with Class I bike paths have fewer crashes than those relying on Class II painted lines and Class III signage.

"Communities and policymakers need to recognize that safety infrastructure, education and policy have not kept pace" with e-bike adoption, Doucet said.

Encinitas by the numbers

Sheriff's Capt. Shane Watts told the Encinitas City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 19, that the area recorded 59 e-bike collisions between 2022 and 2024, 30 in 2025, and 14 so far in 2026, according to San Diego Union-Tribune reporting on the meeting. Half of this year's crashes involved youth riders. Two involved riders older than 70 who fell off their bikes.

The city scored 26 out of 100 on the 2026 PeopleForBikes City Ratings, ranking 2,057 out of 3,019 U.S. cities, according to an Encinitas Bike Walk analysis. That places Encinitas in the bottom 5–10% among California cities rated.

The city's Mobility and Traffic Safety Commission took up the issue at its Monday, Aug. 10, meeting, with Commissioner Ron Medak raising e-bike age restrictions and reconsideration of Class IV bikeway improvements funded through a federal Highway Safety Improvement Program grant.

Funding gap

SANDAG's $125 billion, 25-year regional spending plan allocates $1.2 billion over the next decade for the regional bike network. That's roughly 3% of the $41.8 billion earmarked for transportation improvements in the same period.

One regional project that would benefit Encinitas: SANDAG's North Coast Bike Trail, a planned 27-mile protected path parallel to Interstate 5 linking Oceanside through Encinitas to northern San Diego. About 7 miles were completed in 2022. An additional 38.1 miles of bike lanes are listed as "coming soon" countywide, with 27.5 of those miles being Class I or IV.

Ian Hembree, advocacy and community manager at the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, told KPBS that local e-bike ordinances give the impression cities are addressing safety while pursuing "the lowest-effort, cheapest way of doing something about the problem." He said the region needs to invest in connected, protected routes that span miles rather than piecemeal segments.

Education efforts continue

The San Dieguito Union High School District, which serves Encinitas, launched mandatory bike safety training for middle and high school students this school year. More than 2,700 middle schoolers attended training on Aug. 21, led by San Diego County Bicycle Coalition staff.

Kevin Baross, the coalition's education manager, told KPBS on Aug. 21 that training still matters even as infrastructure lags, noting e-bikes "are not going anywhere" and that teaching riders to be predictable and visible remains essential.

KC Gupta, 18, youth transportation lead with SanDiego350, described riding 13 miles from his San Diego home to Encinitas and feeling the difference between unprotected and protected stretches firsthand. "On trips like that, you see the difference when you're riding next to traffic that's speeding past you versus when you're riding in a protected bike lane. You feel so much safer," Gupta told KPBS.

Residents can report unsafe road conditions to the city's Public Works Department at 760-633-2660 or file a traffic concern online at encinitasca.gov.