A proposed by-law allowing the use of e-scooters on City of Moose Jaw pathways was temporarily halted at 5-2 during the June 26 regular meeting of city council, although it is expected to pass at the next meeting on July 10.
Traffic Bylaw Amendment No. 5695 passed through its first and second readings without amendment, but Councillors Logan and Eby were opposed. Because the vote was not unanimous, a third reading and passing into law will have to wait.
“I’m not in favour of this by-law,” Jamey Logan said. “It’s not that I’m one hundred per cent against it, I just think we’re rushing into it.”
Logan’s sentiment was shared by Heather Eby, Crystal Froese — who ended up voting in favour —, and taxpayer Art King.
King is a frequent presenter at council meetings, exercising his citizen’s rights to address lawmakers and express his concerns. King gave a presentation at the beginning of the June 26 meeting to try and persuade council members not to vote for e-scooters — officially, Traffic Bylaw Amendment No. 5695. King’s reasons were firstly liability, and secondly the murky nature of policing yet another motor-driven mode of transportation on public pathways.
“A pothole for a car or motorcycle doesn’t pose a terribly big risk. But in the case of an e-scooter with a six- or eight- or ten-inch wheel, bouncing off a pothole that’s five inches [deep] … you’re propelled forward over the handlebars and you come face-to-face with a bumper or a seven-inch curb,” King said. He said that with potholes as bad as they are, and injuries sure to come with e-scooter operation, the city could face liability issues.
The rules for operating an e-scooter under the new bylaw, with initial fines starting at $125, will be as follows:
- Persons shall only operate electric kick scooters:
- on trails and pathways; or
- on a highway if the highway has a speed of 50 km/h or less.
- No person shall operate an electric kick scooter:
- on a public highway with a speed limit exceeding 50 km/h;
- at a speed above the maximum speed limit of 24 km/h;
- on a sidewalk, unless the person is walking their electric kick scooter;
- in a marked crosswalk, unless the person is walking their electric kick scooter; or
- recklessly or negligently at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the scooter user or the public.
King said that a 24 km/h e-scooter on poorly defined ‘trails and pathways’ could be dangerous, that having them on 50 km/h roads while limited by law to less than half that speed (24 km/h) would slow traffic flow and create a nuisance, and that police enforcement on existing forms of transportation was already spotty.
The bylaw regulations are in addition to provincial legislation restricting riders to 16 or older, and they must wear a helmet on roads. Rules governing sidewalks and pathways are left to municipalities.
Reactions from City Council and administration
Councillor Jamey Logan: “I’m just worried about the legalities and insurance aspect of it more so than anything, with SGI almost washing their hands of it,” Logan said. “It feels to me like because they’re doing that, all the liability will then land on this city.
“I’m also worried about having these things on public pathways, for those folks that perhaps have sight, hearing, or mobility issues … I just feel like if we could wait, there’s a couple of communities in Saskatchewan that are trying a pilot program, and from my perspective, I would like to wait and see how [those pilots] pan out.”
Councillor Heather Eby: “I’m also not in support of this motion for many of the reasons which Councillor Logan just spoke on. … As we just heard a few minutes ago, 2,339 potholes have been filled, and that’s not all of them.
“I also think it’s too early to jump into this — it wouldn’t mean we couldn’t do it later. But anyways, it’ll pass and that’s fine. I’m just not going to support it.”
Councillor Crystal Froese wanted to know from City Solicitor Andrew Svenson whether creating a bylaw would make the city more or less liable for e-scooter injuries due to road conditions.
“The report doesn’t go into that aspect of liability for potential claims,” Svenson replied. “If we don’t pass any bylaw, then they’re not allowed. The current legislation in place prohibits [e-scooters] unless a municipality adopts a bylaw. … I can’t provide you good information at this point, but certainly [I] can and would if given the opportunity to do some research.”
“OK, thanks,” Froese said. “I’m not one hundred per cent on supporting this yet. … We don’t really know how many we’re going to have, and then who, literally, polices this? Are we giving tickets now to [e-scooters] if we see them going faster than 24 km/h? Are we going to have speed checks?”
Councillor Doug Blanc: “Because I sit on the police commission, I did ask some of the staff there how they felt about it. They said, ‘well, the e-scooters are going to come anyways. Whether you approve a bylaw or not, they’re here.’ … They said in some aspects it’s better to have the bylaw, because then [they can say], ‘look, this is the bylaw, these are the rules, you have to follow them.’”
Councillor Kim Robinson: “We have bicycles that have smaller wheels, we have a lot of skateboards that have tiny little wheels. As far as the liability and risk I don’t see a heck of a lot of difference from a bicycle or any of the other things that go around. … I’m sure there was concerns when bicycles were first allowed on the street.”
Derek Blais, Director of Parks & Recreation: “I just wanted to provide a few hesitations that we have as a department when it comes to the pathways. … The way the bylaw is currently drafted, it doesn’t really define what a pathway is, so it really opens it up to being able to drive anywhere an open space is.
“And the way the bylaw is written right now, it does not require helmets on pathways. … So, there’s a number of things I think need to be considered [further].”
Councillor Dawn Luhning was visibly irritated as she spoke to the issue: “I just don’t see why we’re struggling for the last 20 minutes with having a bylaw in place to allow just another mode of transportation to get around the city. I’ve ridden a scooter in Vancouver, in Seattle, and didn’t have a helmet in any one of those cities.
“I just think we’re overthinking it. I think we need to consider the fact that there are people around the city, including myself, that would like that alternative. … We’re going on and on about this, but anyways, I think we should pass this bylaw tonight because if we don’t I think that we are not thinking as a forward city that we say that we want to be, so those are just the comments that I want to make.”
Luhning’s comments were the final ones to be made before she called the vote, which passed Bylaw 5695 without amendment. A final vote to make it law will be called on July 10.
