Bad Drivers The Issue, Not E-Bikes: Elmhurst Letter To The Editor

Letter to the editor from Elmhurst resident Michael Coyle:

I understand Aldermen Mike Brennan, Noel Talluto, Jennifer Veremis, and Guido Nardini are asking a City Council committee to review e-bike safety and consider new regulations. As a parent, daily rider, and longtime Elmhurst resident, I urge the city to proceed with perspective — and not penalize a growing group of families simply trying to move around town more efficiently.

We bought our e-bike originally to handle pickups and drop-offs at KinderCare and Emerson more easily (with the occasional beer run, I’ll admit). Since then, I’ve logged more than 2,000 miles across Elmhurst — with over 75% of those rides being school/activity-related. Our kids, their friends, and other families have come to love and rely on this bike. It's safe, efficient, and gets us out of the car line and off the crowded roads. We've easily displaced 100 gallons of gasoline, and shouting at drivers for lack of turn signal, not paying attention to traffic lights, or sitting on their phones. Bad drivers are the problem, not e-bikes.

Elmhurst is a drive-through community — thousands of vehicles cut through each day. Adding more teenage drivers to the mix, along with ongoing multi-unit development, is a bigger safety concern than a parent biking their kid to school. E-bikes are not the problem — they’re part of the solution. I've conducted an unofficial traffic study, 20 minutes to drive lake to north, north to St. Charles, St Charles to Butterfield. Ebike does each in 5 minutes.

Instead of restricting e-bikes, let’s focus on smart planning: protected bike lanes, clear usage rules, and promoting e-bikes for what they are — a tool to reduce congestion, not create it. The goal should be to make them safer and more accessible, not harder to use.

I’ve attached two photos. One from when we first started our school commute journey, and another from our final KinderCare drop-off. These aren’t just rides — they’re memories in motion.

When I doubt, ask yourself what would we do in the 80s/90s. If it would be opposite of the course you're on, you're on the wrong course.

(Courtesy of Michael Coyle)