E-bikes are awesome. They can be a fantastic solution in a town without amazing transit, increasing congestion and parking issues.
Not to mention the environmental benefit of swapping a fossil-fuel car for an electric bike.
E-bikes are loved and owned by folks who work for this very publication, in fact.
This is not about e-bikes being bad, needing to be banned or wishing they didn’t exist.
But it is about speed on shared pathways, such as the Discovery Trail.
While most riders are operating their e-bikes safely and respectfully, like is often the case, a few are not, and those riders are going to cause a problem for the rest of us.
Judging by the current situation, there are going to be increasingly serious accidents with pedestrians, dogs being walked, kids on pedal bikes, seniors in scooters, or parents with strollers.
There have already been such crashes noted around the world and less serious ones locally, including a publicized crash on the Valley Trail in Whistler.
In B.C., you don’t need a driver’s licence or to register and/or insure your e-bike, but you are subject to
There are more and more e-bikes on our streets and trails.
After the B.C. government offered an e-bike rebate of up to $1,400 in June, e-bikes are even more popular.
The province’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming told CBC 撸奶社区 that the demand for the rebate was “unprecedented,” sending thousands onto a waitlist for the rebate.
Of course, this isn’t an issue unique to Squamish, B.C. or even Canada. Around the world injuries are on the rise from e-bikes as society learns to adapt and set rules.
What happens here usually happened in the U.S. first, so the data is more thorough there.
Dr. Charles DiMaggio, director of injury research at New York University,to have involved a pedestrian than those with regular bikes or electric scooters.
The solution isn’t to vilify these bikes or riders, but to raise the level of consciousness about them. If you are in a rush or feel the need for speed, take that to the bike lane or side of the road, not the pedestrian path. All users should keep their wits about them — don’t stuff those earbuds in and blast the tunes — on the trail so we can share the path safely.
What is your experience with e-bikes as a rider or other trail user?
Let us know with a letter to the editor: [email protected].
