A residents concerns with e-scooters offered the city food for thought as it rolls towards legalizing their use.
At its June 23 meeting, Salmon Arm council received written input on e-scooters from Jim Maybee, with a focus on the city's interest in getting an e-scooter service started, similar to what's done in neighbouring cities under the B.C. government's electric kick-scooter pilot project.
At its June 9 meeting, council authorized staff to issue a request for proposals from an e-scooter sharing service to operate within the city, similar to what is being offered in Vernon and Kelowna under B.C.s electronic kick-scooter pilot project.
Council also supported a recommendation from Salmon Arm's Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) for the city to apply to take part in the pilot project, which would legalize use of e-scooters on Salmon Arm roads.
Maybee, who in the past has shared with the Observer his concerns around e-bikes and e-scooters, suggested an e-scooter program might be a bad idea at this time, as "there are many safety concerns that need to be considered." One of them has to do there being "little infrastructure in our city to safely allow the use of bicycles, let alone scooters. Maybee noted cities with successful e-scooter and e-bike programs "have well-established bike lanes, that make using these vehicles safe and efficient."
"I see many scooter users on sidewalks on the roads and jumping back and forth between the two, wherever they are comfortable," offered Maybee. "This makes them very unpredictable for motorists and pedestrians alike."
Another concern for Maybee had to do with the variety of e-scooters available, with many being able to exceed speeds of 60 kilometres an hour.
"Who will be ensuring that the scooters used on our roads are safe to use, and in compliance with provincial guidelines…," said Maybee. "I see young children and oversized over-powered scooters ripping around town with no apparent regulation. Is this one more task we will be asking the RCMP to regulate?"
Responding to the letter, Coun. Sylvia Lindgren stressed the city is not looking at an e-scooter program "where anybody can drive anything."
"We’re talking about an e-scooter program where a provider would be contracted to the city to provide e-scooters and possibly bikes that people can rent, and they would be maintained and managed by the provider," said Lindgren. "These would be scooters and bikes similar to what’s being offered in cities all over the province and probably across the country… they don’t do 60 km/h…"
Coun. Tim Lavery, the ATAC chair, agreed there would be stipulations for an e-sooter/e-bike program. However, he also agreed "there’s a whole range of privately owned vehicles, some of which can do exactly what Mr. Maybee is saying…"
Lavery said Maybee's concerns are legitimate, and supported his letter being forwarded to ATAC.
