Give Toronto Feedback Before December 13 on Whether the City Should Allow Pilot Projects with Electric Scooters or Other Micromobility Devices that Endanger Vulnerable Pedestrians with Disabilities

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update

United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities

Website: www.aodaalliance.org

Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com

Twitter: @aodaalliance

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance

 

 

Give the City of Toronto Feedback Before December 13 on Whether the City Should Allow Pilot Projects with Electric Scooters or Other Micromobility Devices that Endanger Vulnerable Pedestrians with Disabilities

 

November 24, 2023

 

SUMMARY

 

The City of Toronto is conducting an important online survey about the possibility of legalizing the use, in public, of several different kinds of micromobility devices like electric scooters. These endanger safety and accessibility for people with disabilities.

 

It is important for people with disabilities, and for people who care about safety for people with disabilities, to fill out this City of Toronto survey, either online, or by filling out the survey form below and emailing it to the City at the email address provided below. You must do so by December 13, 2023.

 

Please oppose any public use of the dangerous forms of micromobility, such as electric scooters, even if they are legally limited to roads and bike paths. We know that the police will not effectively enforce such restrictions, when a city bans them from sidewalks, but allows them on the road. They will end up being ridden on sidewalks with impunity.

 

Moreover, if Toronto were to allow e-scooters on bike paths, that means they will be legally allowed on some sidewalks. Earlier this week, the AODA Alliance made public a new captioned online video that shows that the City of Toronto has built a new bike path right on a sidewalk. It endangers blind people who cannot know there is a bike path there, and how to avoid it.

 

People with disabilities have lots to fear. In response to our widely-watched video and the substantial media coverage it triggered, the City of Toronto’s office responsible for this dangerous design has doubled down, defending it, and saying it has used it in other parts of the city.

 

We appreciate the City of Toronto conducting this survey. However, we fear that most people with disabilities will not know about it. Moreover, the survey does not alert people who complete it that there are very serious objections to e-scooters by people with disabilities, that led the Toronto City Council to vote unanimously on May 5, 2021 not to lift the ban on e-scooters. The survey does not alert the public to the proven dangers that the earlier report by City staff to City Council have documented. The survey does not alert the public that fully 21 community and disability organizations wrote all members of City Council earlier this fall, insisting that they not lift the ban on e-scooters.

 

These concerns seriously undermine the fairness and value of the survey, in so far as some respondents may voice support for legalizing micromobility devices like e-scooters, when they don’t know about the proven dangers they pose for vulnerable pedestrians with disabilities. People with disabilities deserve better.

 

To learn more about the strong opposition from the disability community to e-scooters, visit the AODA Alliance website’s e-scooters page.

 

We emphasize that the survey here and the concerns we voice have nothing to do with any mobility devices designed for people with disabilities.

 

MORE DETAILS

 

City of Toronto Email to the Disability Community Seeking Input on Electric Scooters and Other Micromobility Options

 

We are asking the public to tell us what you think about new forms of mobility called micromobility on City of Toronto’s streets and bike lanes.

 

These include bikes, e-bikes, scooters and more. The public survey is now live on the city’s website and will be open until December 13. For an alternate format I have also attached a Word version of the survey that can be submitted to micromobility@toronto.ca.

 

The results from this survey will be used along with other public engagement, research and input to develop a city-wide strategy for micromobility, including what new forms of mobility might be allowed in future on streets and/or in bike lanes. For more information, please visit our webpage.

 

Janet Lo (she/her)

Senior Project Manager

Transportation Services, Strategic Policy & Innovation

Text of City of Toronto Survey on Electric Scooters and Other Forms of Micromobility

 

City of Toronto Public Survey on Micromobility

Deadline is December 13, 2023 to submit to micromobility@toronto.ca

 

Images are shown that include: a food delivery courier on a seated scooter or moped, a parent cycling with two young kids in front in a large bucket seat, a young woman riding a standing electric kick-scooter, a woman bicycling with a container on the rack behind her, and an older man driving a mini-electric car.

 

1) This is not a vote: Thank you for participating in this survey. It should take about 15 minutes. Public and interest group opinions, along with technical and policy considerations will be used to inform City staff recommendations and decisions to be made by City Council.

 

2) This survey is anonymous: Your response to the survey will be grouped with responses from others and will be kept confidential.

 

3) Contact: If you have any questions or difficulty completing this survey, please contact: micromobility@toronto.ca

 

Background

 

Images include a variety of different micromobility vehicles: a bicycle, a tricycle with a large container in the front to carry groceries or kids, an electric powered bicycle that looks like a normal bicycle with a thicker stem with a battery inside, a seated scooter or moped, an electric kick-scooter, an electric unicycle, a hoverboard that a person stands on that is electric powered, a skateboard and an electric mini-car.

 

Micromobility refers to vehicles that are smaller, slower and lighter-weight than typical cars. They span bicycles, large tricycles that can carry packages/passengers, and scooters that you sit or stand on to operate them. They can be human- or electric-powered. Some have four wheels like electric mini-cars.

 

Only certain micromobility vehicles are currently permitted in Toronto’s bike lanes: bicycles, e-bikes that have a maximum speed of 32 kilometres per hour (kph) when pedaled, and large tricycles that can carry packages or passengers.

 

Other micromobility, such as electric kick-scooters and Low Speed Vehicles (electric mini-cars), are not currently allowed in Toronto’s bike lanes or roads. The Ontario government allows cities and towns to pilot the use of new micromobility to trial and evaluate their use.

 

The results from this survey will be used along with other research and input to develop a city-wide strategy for micromobility, including what new forms of mobility might be allowed in future on streets and/or in bike lanes.

 

Questions

 

Should the City allow the following micromobility vehicles to be used in bike lanes? Assume they are required to have the same maximum speed as e-bikes, i.e. no more than 32 kilometres per hour.

 

  1. Electric kick-scooter – allow in bike lanes? Type one of Yes, No, or Not sure:
  2. Seated electric scooter like a moped – allow in bike lanes? Type one of Yes, No, or Not sure:
  3. Large tricycle carrying people like a pedicab or rickshaw – allow in bike lanes? Type one of Yes, No, or Not sure:
  4. Large tricycle carrying packages – allow in bike lanes? Type one of Yes, No, or Not sure:
  5. If answering No to any of the above, please specify your reasons or you can skip this question:

 

A Low Speed Vehicle is an electric mini-car that can travel up to 40 kilometres per hour.

  1. Do you support allowing Low Speed Vehicles to operate on City streets that have a speed limit of 50 kph? Type one of the following – strongly support, somewhat support, neutral, somewhat oppose, strongly oppose, or not sure:
  2. If answering ‘somewhat opposed or strongly opposed’, please specify your reasons or you can skip this question:

 

  1. What do you think is needed to safely integrate new forms of micromobility into the City’s transportation system? Choose your top three responses from the following by typing 1, 2 and 3 to your selections:

More bike lanes and wide bike lanes.

Road safety education for micromobility users.

Enforcement of unsafe car/truck drivers (e.g. speeding/blocking bike lanes).

Enforcement of illegal sidewalk riding.

Better maintained road surfaces (e.g. for potholes, debris, ice/snow).

Need licence, registration and insurance of vehicles capable of more than 32kph (i.e. the maximum speed for e-bikes)

Other, please specify:

 

  1. How likely is it that you would use new micromobility vehicles (e.g. electric kick-scooter, low speed vehicles, etc) if they were allowed to be operated on the City’s streets/in bike lanes? Type one of the following – very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely, or don’t know:
  2. Please specify the reasons for your response or you can skip this question.

 

  1. For what purposes would you be using new micromobility vehicles? Select all that apply by typing Yes to:

Personal use (e.g. to get to transit/work/school/errands/for fun)

Business purposes (e.g. to do deliveries/gig work/etc)

None of the above

Other – please specify:

 

  1. How often do you use each of the following modes of transportation to get around Toronto?

Walk – Type one of Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never:

Bike – Type one of Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never:

Public Transit – Type one of Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never:

Drive – Type one of Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never:

Car Pool – Type one of Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never:

Ride Share (i.e. Uber, Lyft) – Type one of Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never:

  1. Other, please specify:

 

  1. What types of micromobility vehicles do you currently use or have used (whether in Toronto or elsewhere)? Select all that apply by typing Yes to the following or leave blank for No:

Bicycle:

Cargo bike/trike or e-cargo bike/trike:

E-bike that requires pedaling:

E-bike or seated scooter that you can ride without pedaling:

Electric kick-scooter (that you stand on to operate):

Electric unicycle , hoverboard or skateboard:

Electric mini-car:

Other:

 

  1. What other comments or feedback do you have about the use of micromobility in Toronto?

 

  1. What is your age? Please type one only of the following 0 to 15, 16 to 29, 30 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, 65 to 74, 75 plus, or prefer not to answer:

 

  1. Please provide the first three digits of your postal code (e.g. M5H):

Or select no fixed address, don’t know or prefer not to answer:

 

  1. How did your hear about this survey? Type Yes to one of the following:

City of Toronto mailing list

My City Councillor

Other e-mail list (e.g., Association)

Social Media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

App on smart phone (e.g. subscribed app/service/product)

News Story

City of Toronto Website

Other website

Please specify:

 

  1. Which of the following describes your perspective? Select all that apply by typing Yes to your responses:

I live in Toronto:

I work in Toronto:

I study in Toronto:

I shop/dine/visit /vacation in Toronto:

I travel through Toronto:

I represent a school/college/university:

I represent a business:

I represent an industry organization:

Other, please specify:

 

Disability is understood as any physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, learning, communication, sight, hearing or functional limitation that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society. A disability can be permanent, temporary or episodic, and visible or invisible.

 

  1. Do you identify as a person with a disability? Please type one only of Yes, No, Don’t know, or Prefer not to answer. Please specify:

 

  1. What type of disabilities and/or health conditions do you live with? Please select all that apply by typing yes to your response:

Blindness or low vision (does not include vision correctable by glasses or contact lenses)

Deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing

Developmental or cognitive (example: Down syndrome)

Learning disability (example: dyslexia)

Mental health – perceived or actual disability (examples: addictions, bipolar disorder, depression)

Mobility (examples: requiring use of a cane, wheelchair)

Physical, coordination, manual dexterity, or strength (example: handling objects, balance issues)

Physical illness and/or pain (examples: diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, kidney disease, lung disease, rheumatoid arthritis)

Speech and language (not caused by hearing loss)

Neurodivergent (example: autism, ADHD)

Prefer not to answer

Other, please specify:

 

  1. Gender identity is the gender that people identify with or how they perceive themselves, which may be different from their sex assigned at birth. What best describes your gender? Please select one only by typing yes to your response:

Woman

Man

Trans woman

Trans man

Gender non-binary (including gender fluid, genderqueer, androgynous)

Two-Spirit

Prefer not to answer

Not listed, please describe:

 

  1. Which race category best describes you? Please select one only by typing yes to your response:

Arab, Middle Eastern or West Asian (examples: Afghan, Armenian, Iranian, Lebanese, Persian, Turkish)

Black (examples: African, African-Canadian, Afro-Caribbean)

East Asian (examples: Chinese, Japanese, Korean)

First Nations (status, non-status, treaty or non-treaty), Inuit or Métis

Latin American (examples: Brazilian, Colombian, Cuban, Mexican, Peruvian)

South Asian or Indo-Caribbean (examples: Indian, Indo-Guyanese, IndoTrinidadian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan)

Southeast Asian (examples: Filipino, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, Vietnamese)

White (examples: English, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovakian)

More than one race category or mixed race, please describe: __________

Prefer not to answer

Not listed, please describe:

 

  1. What was your total household income before taxes last year? Your best estimate is fine. Please select one only by typing yes to your response.

0 – $29,999

$30,000-$49,999

$50,000-$69,999

$70,000-$99,999

$100,000-149,999

$150,000 or more

Don’t know

Prefer not to answer

 

Finished.

 

For more information visit this webpage.