KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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Last week, I told you Grain Valley Police Department is taking an education-first approach to enforcing e-ride ordinances. That police department has responded to 10 calls since January, with no citations issued so far in 2026.
Blue Springs Police told me e-rides are "luckily" not a significant issue when it comes to calls and enforcement, though the department could not provide data on how many times it has enforced its ordinance with a citation this year.
A new study from the Mid-America Regional Council found that cities in the metro area have regulations in place, but those rules differ on key topics, including how e-rides are defined and where they are allowed to operate. The study also found that police departments generally prefer to focus on education before moving to enforcement.
KSHB 41 News received an email from Blue Springs resident Natalie Martel, questioning what can be done by the community overall to protect children riding these devices and people nearby and on the roads.
"I've been hearing people say, you know, just like, well, it's just a matter of time somebody's gonna get hurt or worse, you know. And I'm just, I'm so tired of hearing that, like, we need to do something," Natalie Martel said.
Among the ideas: having police visit schools to talk to students about the rules and dangers of e-rides. Grain Valley is already doing that with it's school resource officers; Blue Springs School District said its SROs are not but welcomed the idea. Another suggestion is asking companies to put age limits on e-rides — in some cases, those limits already exist because of laws currently in place.
Martel's main concern is for the safety of everyone involved, saying that children are riding the devices on Roanoke during peak times.
"I especially noticed it around pickup time during school hours. You know, I noticed kids like speeding through school zones, not looking when they would cross the street if, even if they were on the sidewalk, they wouldn't be going super fast, and just crossing across that not looking if somebody was turning," said Martel. "There were just so many kind of frightening moments that me and my kids both witnessed, and even my kids are like, Mom, that's not safe."
I received multiple emails after the first report on this topic. Some said educating riders is not working and that enforcement needs to happen now. Others noted the concern extends beyond e-bikes and e-scooters to include golf carts and mini bikes.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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