A ban on e-bike riding for children 11 and under passed its first vote in the La Mesa City Council, but councilmembers are now split about whether it’s best for the city. Jerry Jones wears three helmets: one as an e-bike rider, one as a dad to 10- and 12-year-olds, and another as a planning com missioner for La Mesa. If the ban — known in the county as the San Diego Electric Bicycle Safety Pilot Program — passes in La Mesa, Jones said, he can’t support it. “I think it’s fantastic that we’re finally starting to see people use some of these bike lanes,” Jones said. “I see zero reason for us as a city, which purports to be a walkable and a bikeable city, to throw cold water on that.” The program is already halfway into fruition. It passed its first vote unopposed in a city council meeting a month ago, then council member Laura Lothian said families bombarded them with complaints. “I’ve changed my mind on this vote,” Lothian said. “This pilot program does nothing to address the real problem. The real problem is teenagers riding recklessly.” Genevieve Suzuki is the councilmember who asked for the ban and doesn’t agree. “It’s interesting that people have cited ages and said, Well, it’s the 15-year-olds or the 16-year-olds,’ ” Suzuki said. “They don’t know that. We don’t have those statistics in La Mesa.” Lothian said the alternative is leaning on the laws already in place to prevent speeding and reckless riding. Suzuki countered. “One of my biggest concerns with that suggestion is that it is reactionary,” Suzuki said. “What that means is that we have to wait for kids to get into these accidents that are quite serious.” Other San Diego County cities, including Santee, Chula Vista, and Carlsbad, already have child e-bike restrictions in place. “Just because Joey jumped off a bridge doesn’t mean you have to jump off a bridge,” Lothian said. “So I don’t like doing something because somebody else has.” “I think it’s really important to know that our firefighters — Heartland Fire — and our police department are in full support of the ordinance,” Suzuki said. “This is because they are the first-responders.” The ordinance will have its second hearing in La Mesa City Council on Tuesday.  If it passes, kids would get warnings for the first 60 days, then potentially be fined $25. ...read more read less