Norfolk councillors have supported the Town of Parry Sound’s request for the province to create rules for e-scooters.
Coun. Mike Columbus mentioned that he took a picture last week, which he shared with all council members, showing two kids around four or five years old riding e-scooters on Nelson Street in Port Dover without “helmets, shoes, or supervision.”
Columbus also captured another image of a young mother speeding on an e-scooter along the sidewalk on Highway 3 (the Queensway) in Simcoe. The area has two lanes of traffic going each way, and once again, she wasn’t wearing a helmet while carrying a baby strapped to her front with a harness.
“Somebody’s going to get hurt soon,” said Columbus. “I’d imagine Norfolk General Hospital knows about these e-scooters. I think we have to do something either at the provincial or county level to make something happen.”
The Town of Parry Sound sent a letter to Norfolk sharing a resolution that its council recently passed. It calls on the Ontario government to set up a province-wide regulatory framework for e-scooters “that recognizes their unique operating characteristics, maintains appropriate safety standards, and provides municipalities with authority to address local needs.”
Parry Sound circulated this resolution to all Ontario municipalities and noted that these vehicles have become an increasingly popular and affordable means of transportation both there and across Ontario.
However, the resolution stated that the current provincial e-scooter pilot program puts the responsibility on individual municipalities regarding how e-scooters can be used locally, “creating administrative and enforcement challenges, particularly for smaller municipalities with limited resources.”
It pointed out that continuing with this pilot framework has led to inconsistent regulations concerning e-scooters throughout the province.
Coun. Chris Van Paassen reported receiving complaints in his ward-which includes Vittoria, Turkey Point, and Port Ryerse-about unsafe usage of e-scooters (electric kick-style scooters), which are small battery-powered vehicles with handlebars and standing platforms.
“When you see a seven-year-old kid riding an e-scooter full-bore with no helmet, no nothing, they’re letting them do it because there are no rules in place to deal with it,” said Van Paassen.
Coun. Linda Vandendriessche shared that she recently watched a video featuring two young children riding an e-scooter “going down the street with no helmet, no shoes even.”
“I think we can ask (Norfolk) staff to get information so we can deal with it,” said Vandendriessche. “But it’s incumbent upon the province to say something and do something.”
Ontario regulates e-scooters through a provincial pilot project; however, individual cities and towns decide whether they are allowed on local roads.
The pilot project rules require riders to be at least 16 years old. Riders aged 16 and 17 must wear bicycle helmets and cannot carry extra passengers or cargo.
To be legal on public property they need to maintain a maximum speed of 24 km/h on flat surfaces and have an electric motor limited to 500 watts.
The Norfolk councillors agreed to send a letter expressing their concerns about this issue to the province and requested county staff bring back a report regarding e-scooter use.
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