E- Scooter Pilot Project

BY: STUART HIMMEL | Staff Writer

Can you picture e-scooters waiting on sidewalks for commuters to hop on and then drop off whenever and wherever they want? If your answer is no, you are not alone. This pilot project does not appear to be part of Toronto’s future unless changes are made.

In the month of March, city experts will reveal recommendations for e-scooter use during a 5 year provincially sanctioned project that will let municipalities create most of the rules.

Janet Lo, senior project manager, gave a preview to Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee which entailed the “preferred” model would see riders pick up and drop off e-scooters only in designated spots. Two spots being considered include Bike Share Toronto Stations or on street vehicle parking spots converted to scooter use by Toronto Parking Authority (TPA). Lo is suggesting that the high number of bike share stations (plans call for 625) make it easy for people to walk and gain access to the e-scooter which would address the sidewalk clutter and obstruction issues. Lo will recommend to councilors that TPA will become the city’s umbrella agency for all e-scooter options noting its plan is to add 300 scooters as part of the pilot project.

The two leaders of the biggest e-scooter companies in Canada, Bird and Lime, said they could work with specified parking spots downtown but would require a lot of them. Lime’s Chris Schafer, suggested a two zone system as ideal for Toronto with riders in suburbs able to leave scooters at the sidewalk edge and wherever convenient and in designated parking spots downtown or on the street or sidewalks if width permits. This allows for an organized program that balances the convenience riders appreciate in other cities around the world. Bird Canada’s Stewart Lyons is also advocating much the same as Lime’s Chris Schafer. Bird Canada, is currently working with a defined parking system in Montreal with no issues but stated they would require lots of spots, maybe every 80-100 meters. He also stated that restricting the spots to Bike Share stations would be insufficient.

At the meeting, Janet Lo heard from disability advocates who don’t want the e-scooters in Toronto at all. “Scooters pose an immediate and serious danger to people with disabilities” stated David Lepofsky, chair of Accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities. Lepofsky, who is blind, said vehicles travelling at 24 km/h are dangerous to people like him when they are moving and a tripping and obstruction hazard when they are parked.

Councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam, chair of the accessibility advisory committee, was surprised at the injury statistics collected from July to mid-October during Calgary’s pilot project. Hundreds of scooter related hospital visits included 33 that required ambulance trips including at least one pedestrian. Wong-Tam’s motion was passed unanimously by committee members, urging council to reject calls to legalize e-scooter usage. She stated that if e-scooters are legalized, rules must be guided by public safety in consultation with people living with disabilities.