What's to be done about the flood of micro evehicles?
Life is full of contradictions. If you came to me and said a fast, effortless, relatively environmentally friendly way to get from A to B without breaking the bank exists I'd say sign me up!
Then if you told me the machines that would enable this travel are almost silent, easily stored and powering them is effortless, I'd say I'll take two please.
But there's a catch.
These machines will absolutely flood our streets out of nowhere. They'll be big, fast and almost completely unregulated. Even the minimal regulation they do have will be largely ignored. The governors that are meant to limit their speed will be easily circumvented.
And with no licence or costly insurance required, everyone from tweens to chronic DUI'ers will now be zipping around on our roads.
But not just the roads. Because there's no stopping these operators from hopping onto sidewalks or into bike lanes as they please.
I'm sure by now you've figured out that I'm talking about micromobility vehicles: a broad term that includes ebikes, escooters and emotorcycles.
Here's the thing: I get the appeal. I really do. This new style of vehicle is a feat of engineering. They look very fun to drive. And let's be honest, a car is a luxury, especially in today's economy. The costs of owning one are just going up and there are many families and individuals who simply won't be able to in the near future. These people still need to get around. Ebikes and escooters offer a perfect solution.
Here's the problem: their chaotic rollout and the hodgepodge municipal legal framework for them have put them in a legal grey area. What are they allowed to do? Who knows. You'd be forgiven for thinking the answer is anything they want.
Take, for instance, the man I saw recently among cars on Cannon Street on what looked like a motorcycle. In place of a licence plate there was a sign that said “EBike.” This guy easily kept pace with the flow of traffic, going 5070 kilometres an hour. But when he came to a red light, he casually steered into the bike lane and zoomed off.
Or, the large man who I recently saw on a crowded Ottawa Street sidewalk going at least 30 km/h on a standup escooter.
Or the tiny, fullyenclosed car that almost took me out on the escarpment rail trail, despite the multiple signs posted on the trail that warn of bylaw infractions for motorized vehicles of any sort.
Or the two or more kids ripping in and out of traffic on escooters on Upper James (not to mention the lack of exercise and habits that would instil a love of physical activity for life in kids, like, for instance, riding around on a regular bike).
I guess this is just the world we live in now. One where hardwon bike lanes look like Fury Road, filled with all manner of ludicrous machines driven by people in postapocalyptic garb like goggles and balaclavas.
And I guess we should just be cool with the fact that getting smoked by one of these things would cause serious injury and it's hard to guard against if we never know where they're going to be.
When I was a kid, a teenager who lived down the street from me showed up one day with a moped. It was a small pedal bike with a loud, twostroke motor. Like a lawn mower motor strapped to a bike. Within days of him zipping around the neighbourhood, the cops had confiscated it. Why? It was illegal, that's why.
Think what you may of that. But at least we knew what to expect when we headed onto the streets in that era. And we deserve that now.
How do we fix this mess? Possibly with more regulation. Possibly more education. Probably both. But none of it will matter unless the rules are enforced. That, or ebike drivers magically become more considerate.
I won't hold my breath for any of these solutions any time soon but a guy can dream.