Battle Creek, MI Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

The Battle Creek City Commission enacted Chapter 819 as Ord. 05-2021 on 5-4-21. Section 819.01(b) applies the chapter to the use of electric skateboards and scooters within the city, whether individually owned or part of a sharing system. Section 819.02(a) defines the device as a wheeled device with a floorboard no more than sixty inches long and eighteen inches wide, built to carry one person, with electric power of no more than 2,500 watts and a top speed of not more than twenty-five miles per hour on a paved level surface.

Section 819.10 sets the rider rules. A person under nineteen must wear a crash helmet, no person under twelve may operate one, and no person under eighteen may ride a shared scooter owned by a licensee. Section 819.10(i) bars operation on a sidewalk except in the Central Business District, where the cap is ten miles per hour. On the street the cap is twenty miles per hour, and on the linear path it is fifteen, under Section 819.10(j). After dark a front white lamp and a rear red reflector are required. Parking is restricted too: devices may not block the pedestrian through zone, ADA paths of travel, fire hydrants, entryways or driveways.

The sections read for this page regulate electric boards only. No rule for non-electric skateboards turned up in the staged code, so this page does not describe one. Renting or making a scooter available for hire without an operating license is separately unlawful under Section 819.10(a), and the City Clerk issues those licenses with Battle Creek Police Department fleet inspection.