South Burlington Now Has Officers on the Bike Paths It Decided Not to Police

South Burlington police announced Aug. 10 that they have launched a bicycle patrol, putting a five-member unit — four officers and a parks patrol member — on Market Street and Garden Street, in city parks, and on the recreation paths. The department is supplying bikes and e-bikes, and says those assigned have trained in bike safety, regulations, and public engagement.

The department describes the program as an investment in safer streets and stronger relationships, and says officers out from behind a windshield are easier to approach.

The paths on that list are the same ones the city spent last year arguing about.

Complaints about speed on the shared-use paths — most of them aimed at e-bikes — went to South Burlington’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee. What came back was education, signage, a code of conduct, and speed limits that were advisory rather than binding.

The recurring objection, raised by committee members and path users alike, was that a real limit would need someone to enforce it. The city has no e-bike ordinance. On the paths, riders answer to state law, which treats an e-bike as a bicycle.

The city’s answer, in short, was that path conduct wasn’t something it would enforce.

Now there are officers on the paths. That isn’t what the announcement is about, and the department hasn’t said the patrol has anything to do with the speed complaints. But the practical position has moved. A city that decided it wouldn’t police the paths now has people on them.

That leaves a question the council hasn’t taken up: whether the advisory limits stay advisory now that someone is out there. Stay tuned.

Sources: South Burlington Police Department media release, Aug. 10, 2026. Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee recommendations and city council packet materials.