E-scooters have been rolling along the sidewalks and trails of St. Albert thanks to a newly launched pilot project.
The pilot began Sept. 7 following approval from city council on Aug. 16. Currently, three companies — Bird Canada, Roll Scooters, and Spin Mobility — have received municipal approval to operate in St. Albert.
While scooters in other cities such as Edmonton are able to go up to 20 km/h, e-scooter speeds in St. Albert will be capped at 15 km/h. The scooters are permitted on any sidewalks or paved trails in St. Albert, but not on roadways or bike lanes.
Additionally, those wishing to take an e-scooter for a ride will have to be at least 16 years old, and wear a helmet. At the end of a ride, e-scooters must be parked in a way that doesn’t obstruct sidewalks or trails.
Coun. Ken Mackay, who brought forward the motion for the pilot on Aug. 16, said he thought it would be worthwhile to give St. Albert a better picture of whether there was an existing demand for e-scooters.
“This could get some vehicles off our road, and contribute to the culture of the city by getting more people on to our trails,” MacKay said. “They could improve transportation for many of our residents who may not have access to a vehicle.”
To prepare for the e-scooter pilot, council amended its traffic bylaws to include regulations for where and how e-scooters should be operated on public property. The city also developed specialized licensing conditions to place regulations on how the e-scooter companies can operate, including the helmet requirement and speed cap.
Mayor Cathy Heron said she would be supporting the pilot, bringing up an accident she had over the summer while riding an e-scooter in Calgary.
“I was probably going faster than 15 km/h when I crashed, and I do support the use of helmets,” Heron said.
Coun. Wes Brodhead noted the e-scooters had a real “allure” to them, but asked those choosing to use them to “share the sidewalks gracefully with those who are walking.”
“I’m actually less concerned about the rentals than the wholly owned ones because there’s no speed limit on them,” Brodhead added.
When considering the pilot, council heard presentations from two companies, Bird and Roll.
During the Bird presentation given by Chris Schafer, Coun. Natalie Joly noted activists from the accessibility community in London, Ont., had spoken out against the use of e-scooters because of concerns about them sharing sidewalks and trails.
“Are you able to comment on those safety concerns?” Joly asked.
Schafer said e-scooter companies have been working directly with members of the accessibility community.
“I can tell you last week close to London, Hamilton city council’s accessibility advisory committee came out in support of staff recommendations for a shared commercial e-scooter program,” Schafer said.
He noted the program is in its early days, but the city is looking at putting contact information in Braille on the scooter to direct members of the accessibility community to the company’s website and phone number.
Additionally, Schafer said some cities are including accessibility committee members on the procurement teams that review e-scooter business licensing proposals.
St. Albert’s e-scooter pilot will go forward into 2022, when a recommendation will be brought back to council on whether to make the project permanent.
