El Cerrito police have started impounding illegal electric dirt bikes on the Ohlone Greenway, where complaints about speeding have grown as powerful motorized vehicles share the path with traditional cyclists and people walking to school.El Cerrito police set up along the Ohlone Greenway near Stockt on Avenue, the public library, and Fairmount Elementary School to stop riders during the morning commute Monday, as the Chronicle reports. Officers reported looked for telltale motorcycle features, particularly foot pegs instead of pedals, and had seized at least two vehicles by 8:35 am. The riders, one a minor and the other a young adult, received citations for operating motorcycles without licenses, according to Police Chief Paul Keith.The operation follows growing complaints about e-motos traveling at dangerous speeds along the greenway, where traditional bicyclists and families walking children to school have raised concerns. El Cerrito Vice Mayor Rebecca Saltzman said residents had recently spoken out during public comment at a City Council meeting, despite the issue not being on the agenda.“There have been more and more folks contacting the city with concerns about speeds on the greenway,” Saltzman said, speaking to the Chronicle.Keith announced stepped-up enforcement on social media last week, defining e-motos as electric motorcycles capable of traveling faster than 20 mph on throttle power alone or equipped with motors exceeding 750 watts. Officers plan to conduct checkpoints throughout El Cerrito, issue citations, and educate parents when possible, according to the Chronicle.The crackdown comes as Governor Gavin Newsom has signed three new state laws addressing e-bike safety, including measures aimed at preventing electric motorcycles from being sold as bicycles and giving local governments more authority to regulate younger riders, as SFist reported earlier this month.SB 1167, introduced by state Senator Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, takes effect in 2027 and bars sellers from marketing electric motorcycles as e-bikes, while requiring clearer vehicle labels and crash data. “There are so many examples of essentially motorcycles being driven by kids that are underage and parents buying things that they don’t even know what it is,” Blakespear told the Sacramento Bee.AB 2346, authored by Assemblymembers Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, and Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, sets a 10-mph sidewalk speed limit and requires speedometers on new Class 2 e-bikes starting in 2029.AB 2595 allows San Mateo County jurisdictions to ban e-bike use by children under 12 through 2030, with warnings and potential $25 fines. Earlier this year, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton charged Benicia parents Steven Leroy Crews and Jeanna Marie Gabellini with child abuse after their teenage son suffered severe injuries in a Walnut Creek e-moto crash last September. Prosecutors allege the parents allowed him to ride dangerously for three years despite multiple citations. Related: New California E-Bike Laws Include Ban For San Mateo County Youth Under 12 ...read more read less