Waukesha County, WI Mobility & Curb Rules: E-Bike Classes (2026)

Section 14-165(a) of the Waukesha County Code defines the term "bicycle" for park purposes to include "class 1 electric bicycles, as defined in Wis. " Because Class 1 e-bikes are folded into the same definition as an ordinary bicycle, they inherit every other rule in Section 14-165: they are restricted to designated trails, must travel single file in the extreme right-hand lane of park drives, and must be parked in provided racks where available. Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes are not merely restricted to different areas; the ordinance excludes them from the park system's trails and drives entirely.

Enrolled Ordinance 176-16, effective June 1, 2021, is the amendment that added electric bicycles and the class distinction to Section 14-165 in the first place, alongside the same ordinance's changes to the scooter and self-balancing-device rules in Section 14-164. A rider who brings a Class 2 or Class 3 e-bike into a Waukesha County park has no lawful place to operate it under this article; the exclusion is not a permit-and-fee situation but an outright bar tied to the bike's motor classification under state law. Violations fall under Section 14-140's general parks penalty, a forfeiture of $10 to $600 per offense.