Bent hopes CBS has say in crafting of provincial e-scooter rules
By Craig Westcott
The risks posed by e-scooters on roads and side streets was raised as a subject of note by Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley at the July public meeting of CBS council.
“While there are no strict bylaws with regard to usage, e-scooters are just about everywhere now,” Tilley said. “I come out of my driveway and I see them coming down the street. The only thing we can do is ask parents and the kids who operate these things to do so in a safe manner. Please wear a helmet.”
Mayor Darrin Bent said e-scooters and e-bikes have become a big issue for municipalities across the province.
“We see them going down the sidewalks and sometimes on the road and always think the wheels are so small that if you were to hit anything it might traject you into the path of a vehicle,” Bent said, reiterating Tilley’s plea for the users of the machines to keep safety top of mind.
“I’ve heard safety people in the past week say that bicycle helmets aren’t really proper for something that goes as fast as an e-bike or an e-scooter and you should actually have something a little more protective than that,” the mayor added. “I don’t know what the details of that are, but I was buoyed by the fact the Government Services Minister for the Province, Mike Goosney, said the Province is actually looking into legislation this fall to start that conversation about e-scooters and all kinds of different e-bikes, all these things that aren’t covered by any Act so far. The Province will be the lead authority when it comes to regulations. We’re going to have our own conversations here as a council over the next while to find out what’s within our purview to do with regards to these and we’ll discuss that in the next few weeks and certainly we would have input, I would hope, on any legislation that would come forward from the Province for the concerns that we hear from our residents.”
Bent said the Town has also heard from people who are concerned about the use of e-scooters on the T’Railway.