City council has officially approved the use of electric kick scooters — e-scooters — on city pathways, which means it’s no longer illegal for residents to operate the devices here.
During their July 10 regular meeting, councillors voted 5-2 during the third and final reading of a traffic bylaw amendment to accept e-scooters in the City of Moose Jaw. Councillors Heather Eby and Jamey Logan were opposed.
According to the updated bylaw, everyone who operates an e-scooter must obey the rules in the bylaw and the regulations in The Traffic Safety Act. People are only allowed to operate the machines on trails and pathways or a highway if the highway has a speed under 50 kilometres per hour, while they must also wear a helmet.
Meanwhile, no one is allowed to operate an e-scooter:
- On a public highway with a speed over 50 km/h
- At a speed above the provincial maximum speed limit of 24 km/h
- On a sidewalk or in a marked crosswalk, unless the person is walking the machine
- Recklessly or negligently at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the user or the public
Fines will range between $125 and $230 for those who disobey the law.
During the June 26 meeting, Logan said, “I’m just worried about the legalities and insurance aspect of it more so than anything, with SGI almost washing their hands of it. 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 … ,” he added. “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.”
Said 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 … 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.”
Said Coun. 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.’”
Said Coun. Kim Robinson, “We have bicycles that have smaller wheels (and) 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 (were) concerns when bicycles were first allowed on the street.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, July 24.
