Take two e-bikes that look nearly the same, parked at the Greenbelt trailhead by W.C. Johnson Park. One tops out at 20 mph of motor assist. The other keeps assisting to 28. Since October 12, that gap of 8 mph decides which one can roll onto Collierville's 18.58-mile Greenbelt and which one has to stay on the street.
The finished ordinance looks very different from the August draft. That version would have closed the Greenbelt to every class of e-bike and limited riders to streets posted at 20 mph or slower. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen ended up writing the restrictions around bike class instead of around locations. Most of the town's trails, sidewalks and subdivision streets are still open to Class 1 and 2 e-bikes. The restrictions fall on the fastest class.
The Rule That Passed, Next to the One That Almost Did
The Board adopted Ordinance 2026-03 on third and final reading on Monday, October 12, 2026, and it took effect immediately, according to the Town's press release. Comparing the August 10 staff report with the October 12 staff report shows how far the rules moved.
| Question | August 2026 draft | Adopted October 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 and 2 on Town Greenbelts | Banned | Allowed |
| Class 3 on Town Greenbelts | Banned | Banned |
| Public sidewalks | Class 1 on residential sidewalks only | Class 1 and 2 allowed, Class 3 barred |
| Town facilities | All classes banned from the grounds of Town parks, Town Hall, the library and similar sites | Class 1 and 2 allowed on lawn areas and internal sidewalks, Class 3 barred from them |
| Which streets | Posted 20 mph or less | Any public street, regardless of posted speed |
| Helmets | Required for all riders | Required for all riders |
| Class 3 minimum age | 16 | 16 |
| Private golf carts | Not on greenbelts or sidewalks, and on public streets only if made street legal | Same |
The top and bottom rows of the table stayed put, and almost everything between them flipped. Under both versions, a Class 3 bike stays off the Greenbelt, every rider wears a helmet, and a golf cart stays off greenbelts and sidewalks and has to be retrofitted and registered before it can use public streets. What changed is where everyone else is allowed to ride.
The staff report bases the class split on speed. Class 1 and 2 bikes give motor assist up to 20 mph and Class 3 bikes reach 28, which in the report's words creates "higher-energy crashes and reduced reaction time." It also says that sidewalks and greenbelt paths "are designed for slow, predictable movement." So the line sits where the motor's top assist speed jumps. Paths stay open and a single class is removed from them.
Two carve-outs matter on the trail. The new rules do not apply to power-driven mobility devices used by people with disabilities, which the Americans with Disabilities Act treats as allowed anywhere a regular bicycle is allowed. Standard pedal bikes gain no new rights and lose none.
How a Full Ban Became a One-Class Ban
The ordinance took almost three months to pass, and at one point it stalled outright. According to the October staff report, it went through these stages:
- July 27: First reading approved.
- August 17: Public hearing and second reading. The Board deferred the vote for more study.
- September 14: Board work session on micromobility.
- September 28: Second public hearing. Second reading approved with changes.
- October 12: Third and final reading. Effective immediately.
Third reading had first been scheduled for August 24. The August 17 meeting, which is archived on the Town's meeting video page, is where the schedule slipped.
At that hearing, staff explained what had prompted the ordinance. The parks director had seen young riders on e-bikes circling a tennis court, and staff also cited riding on ball fields. They described the ordinance as a way to get ahead of safety concerns and as a tool for public education. Staff also brought revisions from a work session the week before. These included allowing adults over 16 onto streets, letting Class 2 bikes join Class 1 on residential sidewalks, and allowing both on greenbelt trails with motors disengaged. Their example was a young rider who could get from home to the library, a park or school without leaving the sidewalk.
Public comment kept coming back to one point. Several residents argued that the draft regulated equipment when the problem was conduct.
- One speaker who rides east toward the Square said the realistic routes are Frank Road, Poplar Avenue, or Wolf River Boulevard. He said Wolf River has a bike lane through Memphis and Germantown, but once a rider crosses Houston Levee Road the road has no real shoulder.
- A Class 2 owner said a 20 mph street limit would keep her off the streets of her own subdivision, which are posted at 25.
- Another resident asked whether anyone could map a legal route from Schilling Farms or the Wolf River corridor to the Historic Town Square under the draft rules.
- Leo Old, a board member of the Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club and an assistant coach for the Collierville high and middle school mountain bike team, said the team has 54 youth riders, while the town has roughly two and a half miles of mountain bike trail.
Another resident pushed for a "narrower fix rather than a blanket ban." A longtime resident and former bike racer described the opposite concern from the same trail. He had seen e-bikes on the Greenbelt passing too close and too fast, without warning, and said he worried about his young grandchildren.
The vote reflected both sides. One board member said the main thing they had heard was to target behavior instead of e-bikes. The Board voted unanimously to table the second reading: Aldermen Jordan, Marshall, Stamps, Robbins and Hall, and Mayor Frazier. When the ordinance came back in September, the Greenbelt ban covered only Class 3, and the street-speed limit was gone.
What Changes on a Saturday Ride This Fall
For most households, the ordinance changes little about where they ride and more about what they wear and which bike they own.
- A Class 1 or 2 bike can use the Greenbelt, public sidewalks, and the lawns and internal sidewalks at Town facilities, and it can ride on any public street.
- A Class 3 bike stays off the Greenbelt, public sidewalks, and the lawn areas and internal sidewalks at Town facilities, and its rider has to be at least 16.
- Every rider of any micromobility device needs a helmet, whatever their age. That includes e-scooters, e-unicycles, e-skateboards and hoverboards.
- A private golf cart is not allowed on greenbelts or public sidewalks. It can use public streets only after it has been retrofitted and registered as street legal.
The class split puts a practical question in front of owners, because e-bike classes aren't always easy to tell apart by looking at them. At the August hearing, Alderman Robbins said Class 1 and 2 bikes are much alike apart from how the assist kicks in, and staff agreed the two "would be very hard to tell apart." A parent at the same meeting said she thought her teenager's bike was Class 3 but wasn't sure. Before a family heads out to the Greenbelt by Hinton Park or Robbins-Halle Nature Preserve, it's worth checking the bike's classification on its label or in the manufacturer's paperwork.
Public documents still disagree on one detail. The October staff report sets the Class 3 minimum age at 16 and says that comes from state law. As of late October, the Town's e-bike and e-scooter safety page still listed 14. The ordinance passed more recently, and the safety page may not have been updated to match it yet.
The Education Piece Hasn't Arrived Yet
The ordinance gives the Town an enforcement tool, and the Town says education comes first. The press release describes a campaign run with the Collierville Police Department and Collierville Schools, aimed mainly at riders ages 12 to 17 and their parents. It will cover bike classes, safe riding, where each device is allowed, protective gear and the new rules. Police are also preparing a micromobility safety education and training program. The release says residents will get guidance "in the coming weeks," including where each type of device may be ridden. No program name or start date had been announced as of late October.
The Town justifies the ordinance with national injury data. Its staff report cites emergency-department-treated e-bike injuries rising from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022. It also cites a Consumer Product Safety Commission estimate of about 59,200 e-bike ER visits in 2024, close to double the roughly 26,800 in 2022.
The rules end at the town line, and neighboring towns may handle this differently. At the August hearing, Alderman Jordan asked whether Collierville's greenbelts connect with Germantown's. Staff said "not yet, but we're working on it." The town attorney added that Germantown was waiting to model its own ordinance on Collierville's. If the trails do link up, a rider could face different rules on each side.
The same ordinance also updated rules for residential vehicle parking and mobile food vending, and the Town says details are coming for residents and affected businesses. The Daily Memphian covered the final vote on October 12.
This post is general information, not legal advice. The Town's ordinance and its official guidance are the final word on where and how any device may be ridden.
If being close to the Greenbelt by W.C. Johnson Park, Hinton Park or the Town Square ranks high on your list for your next Collierville home, Myers Cobb Realtors can help you find a home within easy reach of the trail. Work With Us.
