AODA Alliance
ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ALLIANCE
NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto Police Announce Crackdown on E-Scooter and E-Bikes, But Don’t Appear to Know E-Scooter Riding in Public in Toronto is Prohibited
November 5, 2024 Toronto: Toronto police say they’re cracking down on e-bike and e-scooter riders but don’t seem to know that e-scooter-riding in Toronto in public places is totally illegal. Yesterday, City News reported that Toronto Police Services have announced a two-week crackdown focusing only on such things as riding at excessive speeds or riding without a helmet. (City News report set out below.)
“Toronto City Council twice voted to completely ban any e-scooter riding in public, in 2021 and again in 2024, but Toronto’s cops don’t seem to have gotten the memo!” said David Lepofsky, Chair of the AODA Alliance which spearheaded the grassroots disability campaign to get Toronto to ban e-scooters. “Toronto police should be enforcing the law against anyone who rides an e-scooter on a public road, sidewalk, park trail or any other public property. We fought long and hard for that ban to protect vulnerable people with disabilities and seniors.”
E-scooters especially endanger seniors and people with disabilities. Blind people can’t tell when silent e-scooters rocket at them at over 20 kph, driven by unlicensed, untrained, uninsured, unhelmeted joy riders. Left strewn on sidewalks, e-scooters are tripping hazards for blind people and accessibility barriers for wheelchair users.
Toronto City Staff twice recommended against allowing e-scooters, in 2021 and 2024. Toronto’s Accessibility Advisory Committee three times made strong recommendations to City Council against allowing e-scooters, in 2020, 2021, and 2024. Following these recommendations, City Council twice voted to ban e-scooters in 2021 and 2024.
Toronto police’s new strategy creates a false impression that riding e-scooters is permitted in Toronto if you wear a helmet and don’t speed. This is not the case.
Contact: AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky, aodafeedback@gmail.com
Twitter: @aodaalliance
Learn more about the AODA Alliance efforts to protect vulnerable people with disabilities, seniors and others from e-scooters. Watch the captioned video of AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky’s 3-minute presentation at the May 2, 2024 Toronto Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting. Check out the AODA Alliance website’s e-scooters page.
City News November 4, 2024
Originally posted at https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/11/04/toronto-police-cracking-down-on-unsafe-e-bike-operators/
Toronto police cracking down on unsafe e-bike operators
A food delivery courier rides an e-bike in Toronto on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
By Erica Natividad and Denio Lourenco
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) says it is cracking down on unsafe operators of “micromobility” vehicles, which include e-bikes, e-scooters and other small electric vehicles like hoverboards and unicycles.
“A lot of them are aligned with the food industry and there’s been a lack of education,” TPS Acting Supt. Matt Moyer tells CityNews. “As a result of that, it’s been very unclear as to what the standard and what the guidelines are for safe operation of these vehicles.”
An education and enforcement campaign titled “Safe Streets, Safe Roads” began on Monday and will be in effect for the next two weeks until Sunday, November 17, primarily in the downtown core.
Traffic officers will be pulling over those who are potentially breaking the law, including those who are speeding, running red lights, hopping on and off sidewalks, and not wearing a helmet.
“I definitely think they should crack down on it,” one Toronto resident told CityNews. “They’re really dangerous, especially because they’re electronic,
so they’re silent. And it makes sidewalks inaccessible for people with wheelchairs, strollers, or just two people walking together.”
“I think they should stay off the footpaths anyway,” another resident quipped. “If they’re on the roads, I don’t mind.”
At least 16 people have been killed or seriously injured while operating micromobility vehicles so far this year, according to police.
One e-bike rider who was standing by Yonge-Dundas Square told CityNews there are situations where a ticket would be unfair. He points out the dangers that food delivery drivers face, saying he’s often the target of thieves and claims that he was once held at knifepoint while making a delivery at 3 a.m.
The rider says he’s had his helmet stolen three times and was recently ticketed by police and fined $110.00 for riding without one.
“I don’t have much money for buying a helmet,” the rider explained. “And I told the officer, but he [didn’t] want to understand.”
At a press conference on Monday, Acting Supt. Don Belanger told reporters the legality of “micromobility” devices on city roads is an “unfolding issue.”
“Our main concern is the safety of individuals that are utilizing these devices in the city. Some of them hit very high speeds,” Belanger said. “Often we see people not wearing helmets. When you combine that with, particularly, our downtown congestion, it certainly creates safety issues for the users, as well as for drivers frankly and pedestrians.”
Riders who are caught breaking the law face potential fines starting at $90.00.