Electric scooters should be banned from St. Albert’s trail system, says an avid recreational user who is lobbying city council to revamp its traffic bylaw.
A recent Gazette story about electric scooters, or power bicycles, highlighted how these machines are allowed on St. Albert’s sidewalks and the Red Willow Trail system. Resident Brian Johnson wants council to change that.
The 59-year-old logs more than 2,000 kilometres a year inline skating on city trails and is concerned that motorized vehicles are too fast, pose a safety risk at blind corners and create a liability issue because they don’t require insurance.
“I can just imagine two of these units being operated by two 12-year-olds going side by side, up and down the trail system. Who’s going to pay for what?” Johnson said.
To be classified as a power bicycle, a machine must be limited to a top speed of 32 km/h. To legally operate one, riders must be at least 12 and wear a helmet. A business called Edmonton E-Ride recently opened in St. Albert. It sells a line of Vespa-like electric scooters that are classified as power bicycles.
Similar machines have been available for a few years at stores like Canadian Tire.
Johnson said he likes the idea of electric scooters but thinks the city needs to quickly decide where they can and can’t be operated so users and sellers have clear rules.
“I have no vendetta against them but let’s legislate where they should be operated in a safe manner,” he said.
The city’s current traffic bylaw allows bicycles on trails and sidewalks. The bylaw defines a bicycle as “any cycle powered by human muscular power,” but the city’s bylaw enforcement department interprets the definition as including power bicycles since these have pedals that can be attached if desired.
The bylaw requires users of all types of bikes to operate in a safe manner, said bylaw supervisor Aaron Giesbrecht.
Johnson isn’t satisfied. He’s concerned some users will alter their scooters to exceed their regulated speed. And he doesn’t think the requirement for safe operation goes far enough.
“If you look at the operation of these things, most people are going the maximum,” Johnson said.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he isn’t satisfied with the bylaw department’s “liberal” interpretation of the current bylaw.
“My personal opinion is that I don’t think that motorized scooters should be allowed on trails and sidewalks,” Crouse said.
Crouse said he’s received two messages about the issue, both from residents who are opposed to scooter use on the trails or sidewalks. He said the issue is not his top priority but warrants attention.
“I don’t know if I’m going to deal with it in the next month but I’ll deal with it at some point,” he said. “I’m going to deal with it proactively, not reactively.”
Steve Miloshev, owner of E-Ride Vancouver, which supplies Motorino scooters throughout Canada (including a new St. Albert franchise), said the machines are appropriate for trail use.
“We have people with multiple sclerosis or some people that cannot ride a regular bike but they can [use] this one and they’re kind of discriminated against by not being able to use them in places like parks,” he said.
Vancouver restricts the use of power bicycles in specific areas, such as its sea wall, Stanley Park and English Bay, but allows them elsewhere on its trail network, Miloshev said.
He has a well-established dealer network throughout B.C., where smaller cities generally allow scooters anywhere a bicycle can go, he said.
It hasn’t been an issue in Penticton, confirmed dealer Darren Ryan, a take echoed by a Kamloops bylaw clerk named Barb who declined to provide her last name.
“I see them all the time but we’ve never had a complaint about it,” she said.
Calgary, on the other hand, views power bicycles as a motor vehicle and prohibits their use on its trail system, said Bill Bruce, the city’s director of animal and bylaw services.
