Resident urges Chandler to address e‑bike safety and dangers along Consolidated Canal

Brooke Beal, a Chandler resident, used the unscheduled public-comment period on April 9 to urge the city to address safety for pedestrians along the Consolidated Canal and to reconsider allowing e-bikes on sidewalks.

“I think that it’s a bad idea,” Beal said of e-bikes and bicycles on sidewalks, saying council members must consider the safety of older residents. She told the council she is about 70 years old and said, “I get struck by an e‑bike. I’m probably gonna go down hard.” Beal described calling 911 three times while walking on the canal, reporting two incidents in which she said she was physically assaulted and one recent near-assault.

Beal asked the council to schedule a presentation next month on measures the city is taking to make the canal and adjacent routes safer for cyclists and pedestrians. She cited what she characterized as roughly 20,000,000 gallons of water moving through about 7.5 miles of the Consolidated Canal and expressed concern about high-speed bicycles and motorbikes along the corridor.

Mayor Herkey acknowledged the comment and said staff would follow up with the speaker. No formal action or vote on e-bike policy occurred during the meeting.