By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative, The Pearl
Mount Pearl city council has tasked administration with bringing back options to address safety concerns related to the use of e-bikes and e-scooters on city trails, including a potential ban.
Mayor Dave Aker queried why, as a limited example, if the city doesn’t allow dirtbikes on the trails, why would it allow e-bikes considering the speeds some of them can now reach.
Councilor Jim Locke went one step further, clarifying that the bylaw already states that motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails and a distinction should not be made between conventional motorized vehicles and newer models like e-bikes and e-scooters.
“It’s a tough one because you see some people that are using their e-bikes responsibly – if they are going up an incline and they just want to kick in the motor to help them with their pedaling,” Locke said.
However, Locke added that many current models have morphed into an electric version of motorbikes and, as such, they should be banned.
“I agree with you mayor, the city needs to make a statement,” said Locke.
Councilor Isabelle Fry stated that e-bikes and e-scooters were a topic of discussion at a recent Joint Council of the East Avalon, and that a motion to have the province explore further regulation of electric vehicles was passed at last year’s Municipalities NL meeting.
Aker said he is aware of e-bikes with engines upwards of 1,500 watts, and he believes it’s also problematic that e-bikes have evolved from a traditional pedal-assist model to more of an autonomous electric vehicle with a throttle that results in higher speeds.
“Why would we wait years for the provincial government, and I don’t really know what their timeline is, but we put the MNL resolution in place last year,” Aker said, adding that he knows it’s on the province’s radar. “But even if they, tomorrow, said the following bikes need to be registered for the roadway, why wouldn’t this council consider a ban on some of our trails like we do with dirtbikes?”
Councilor Mark Rice was the first to raise the issue of e bikes during the roundtable portion of the June 23 public meeting, saying he has received several calls that e-bike users are creating chaos on local trails.
Rice relayed to council that one call he took outlined an incident where residents walking on the trail had to jump off to avoid being hit.
“People are just getting so frustrated now,” Rice said, adding that the city has markings on the trailways that bikes and scooters – conventional or electric - are obligated to have a bell in order to notify other users if they are approaching and passing.
Recreation and Community Services Director Jason Collins stated there are multiple challenges, including the fact that the city has more than 60km of trails and actively promoted multi-modal transportation up to this point.
“Do we move towards banning? If that is the case then we also need to look at our integrated transportation study, so there are a lot of factors that come into play if we are going to change. But we certainly should be having that discussion,” Collins said.
He told council that 10 members of the park patrol just started for the summer a short while ago. He said that regulations in general – and not just in Mount Pearl – have not kept up with the advances in technology.
He stated that the biggest thing, regardless of the type of bike, is maintaining appropriate speeds.
“Just be courteous,” he said.
Multiple councilors noted instances of stunting, people not wearing helmets and folks driving on roads.
Fry stated she had youth on an ebike in front of her on Ruth Drive keeping up with the speed of traffic.
“All I could think about was when we learn to drive, we got to do driver training and learn the rules of the road and all of the safety requirements,” said Fry. “Same thing with motorcycles. You know, if you want to have a motorcycle license you have to do the same. So, to have these young kids using our roadways, keeping up with – because of technology the speeds are the same as traffic at 50km/h, 40km/h. They don’t know the rules of the road, they don’t have the training, the safety training. Like this is just a disaster waiting to happen.”
Aker asked administration to look into what an interim ban would look like, and also how that could intermingle or go hand in hand with any potential changes that could be coming to the Highway Traffic Act.