E-bikes banned from Martin Goodman Trail

Conventional bicycles pass a sign prohibiting e-bikes on the Martin Goodman Trail. (David Cooper/The Toronto Star)

A sign that went up quietly last week prohibits electric bikes from using the Martin Goodman Trail.

Perched at the entrance near Bathurst St. and Queens Quay W., the sign is raising the ire of electric bike (or e-bike) users.

The ban is “inconsistent” with the shift to greener ways of travel, said Lock Hughes, treasurer of the Toronto Electric Riders Association, which represents users of electric two-wheelers.

He added that the ban on “motor power assisted bikes” is vague and can refer to anything from an e-bike to a scooter or Segway, which are all different sizes and speeds. E-bikes generally resemble conventional bicycles but with a small motor.

A city bylaw restricts the use of bike paths to bicycles, defined as vehicles operating solely on “muscular power,” Lukasz Pawlowski of Transportation Services said, adding staff are in discussions to rework the term.

“Right now, the definition of a bike is very strict so there’s no exceptions made for a bike like an e-bike,” he said.

When the bylaw came into place several years ago, people weren’t using electric two-wheelers, Pawlowski said. “It requires a more nuanced approach.”

Provincially, e-bikes are governed by the same rules as conventional bicycles. However, cities can pass bylaws limiting their use on bike paths and trails under their jurisdiction.

On Tuesday, a dozen cyclists rode past the Martin Goodman Trail sign without noticing it. They all said they’ve seen e-bikes and other motorized vehicles on the trail.

Andrew Le, who takes the trail about four times a week, said he’s happy with the ban. He’s had a few “close calls” with e-bikes.

“They’re faster so there’s just more weaving through traffic,” he said. “If you get hit by one, it’s no fun.”

Cameron Fitzgerald has “no problem” with e-bikes, which he has trouble distinguishing from conventional bikes.

For him, the city should focus on regulating bigger vehicles, like scooters, which can move at higher speeds.

“They look like a motorcycle to me,” he said. “They just don’t fit on the trail.”

Stephen Oldfield said he’s seen plenty of unsafe bicycle operation, but doesn’t want to target one group of trail users.

“The problem’s with the operator, not the vehicle.”

--Gloria Er-Chua, Staff Reporter

Click here to read earlier comments

Comments

[Brian]

I have no issue with e-bikes with a hub motor and a conventional style of bike frame, I have a real issue with a scooter style of electric bike with the removeable pedals.

[John Bell]

Most of the e-bikes I see look more like scooters than conventional bikes, and they certainly are faster. My main issue with them is that they are silent; I'm regularly in near collisions with them in city bike lanes because they come up behind you too quickly and quietly and then buzz past too close. God forbid I should have to swerve to avoid a pothole or streetcar track. By the way, I also have issue with cyclists who pass in the bike lane without warning.

[newfie]

Good, now get them hazards off the streets. Nothing worse then seeing someone riding with either no helmet, or a bicycle helmet doing less then 20 in a 50 zone and slowing down traffic.

[atothettotherokz]

Finally! Having these so called ‘bikes’ on paths or on the sidewalk is not only dangerous, inconsiderate, and rude, it’s also illegal. Just putting a set of dinky ‘pedals’ linked into the drive-line on what is in reality an electric scooter is nothing short of taking advantage of our lax laws. Don’t mopeds require licensing? How are these any different? Anything with a motor, regardless of having ONE similarity to a bicycle, should be treated as such and be licensed, plated, and insured.

As it stands, we have a bunch of knob-jobs rolling around on the streets with zero regard for pedestrian safety (riding on the sidewalk) or their own safety (meandering along on the road slower than a road bike). Can’t wait till they are banned off all paths and require an M license.

And environmentalism my buttocks. A ton of plastic, metal, and chemicals made in unregulated factories in Asia, using electricity to charge. Get a real bike!

[I_bRAD]

They might have put more specific signs up, but the rule has always been "no motorized vehicles" for as long as I can remember. The confusing part is why people on e-bikes don't seem to realize they are on a motorized vehicle.

[Julien]

I wish they would do this in my town

[Anthony]

I was walking with my dog down that trail a few days ago, and a man on an electric motor bike nearly drove into me as I turned around. He was going quite fast, and the thing with electric motor bikes is that you can't hear them coming because they're very silent. At least bikes make a low level clicking/huming sum. I support this ban for reasons of safety.

[Kevin Murray]

Like anything else, the e bikes are most dangerous when a bad driver is on one of them. I was rollerblading on the trail Monday while the air show was on. Traffic was heavy and here comes a scooter with the rider looking up at the planes.
I'm not sure how you legislate people having the sense to not use a scooter or a faster bike when there is a lot of traffic on the trail.

[ron edwards]

There is no point in having a ban unless it is enforced. Burlington has a no cycling ban for it's downtown sidewalks but as it is not enforced it is ignored by cyclists.

[Crisscross]

The term "e-bike" can refer to a regular bicycle with a small Bion-X motor, which is generally pedaled and the heavy, never-pedaled scooter-like things that are advertised "no insurance, no license". The latter are items of abuse with many reckless individuals acquiring them along with responsible owners. If they were licensed and had insurance, they would be the same as gas-engined scooters. These don't belong on park trails and if they are on the road they should be licensed. The term "e-bike" has been exploited for profit by a self-serving industry. The scooter vehicles have a place on the road along with other motor scooters and motor cycles. The Parks department is absolutely right. Watch out for the "e-bikes" that are not bikes at all.

[Pasha]

I agree that there should be no discrimination and it is the operator not the vehicle however, that being said, some "operators" need a lesson in a) driving and b) respect of others. E-bike riders want the best of both worlds, the motorised world and the human energy world. They drive where ever they want, what ever is easiest for them. All bikers over 12 should be licensed and be required to drive on the street and to get a license they should have to pass a written exam the same as a car driver, they should loose the right to drive if they are caught disobeying the rules of the road as well. And, just for the record, no I don't own a car although I have a drivers license, I ride a bike and I am sick to death of trying to walk down a sidewalk and getting run over by an e bike or a regular bike or having to manuver around an e-bike as big as a motorcycle that is locked up to a bike rack and taking up half of the sidewalk.

[caw mentor]

I agree E-Bikes are a failed experiment.
they come careening out into traffic, with no signals without looking their passenger with no helmet desperately hanging on the back.
Then they proceed to precariously wiggle down the road like they are going to fling their riders into traffic at any moment, then wander across again with no signals to the left turn lane cutting off cars as they go, as they cross traffic just to ride on the sidewalk at almost 30km/h

[Woodman]

As an avid cyclist and owning a road bike and a triathlon bike, I have no issues with the E-bikes on the trails. They are just as safe and/or dangerous as a regular bike. I avoid all types of traffic whenever possible because slower pedestrians don't realise how fast a "muscle powered bike" can move. Even so, most my close calls have been close to home in my residential area when people look directly at me then start to walk across the road. I almost wiped out a small family after the parents said "it's clear, go". No, I took the sidewalk to avoid running a 5 year over. I could go on and on. I think what is needed is a signal device, like a bell (law!) and slower moving traffic actually moving over to make way instead of ignoring the rininging bell , or even better, turning around to see where the bell noise is and blocking the entire trail while doing so. Vatural selection at work.

[dds]

I once passed a e-bike doing 30 km/h on my regular bike doing about 40 km/h.

[Gizmo10]

Yep,not a bad rule. Ebikes are really not like bikes - they're much heavier, they can't be maneuvered like bikes (ie I don't think they swerve very well!) and like other posters, I've had a number of near calls with these things when they've silently swept up and passed me in narrow lanes.

[Brian Huntley]

Simple test: Ride your ebike up Avenue Road without using the battery. If you make it, it's an ebike. If you don't, it's a scooter that requires a license.

[commuter]

I have never had a problem with the electric assist bycicles (built on a bike frame and require pedaling to go), if you pedal slower or stop pedaling, the bike slows down or coasts, which seems to encourage common sense in pedestrian traffic. This style of e-bike seems like a great solution for comuters who don't want to have a shower when they get to work before seeing clients. The scooter style of e-bike is a menace. Most riders seem to leave cruise control set for rabbit mode, and won't dial it back to turtle mode until they get to where they are going, no matter how many people they are tuning into pylons.

[Michel]

It's about time someone take actions... these so-call electric bikes are more like electric scooters... and while their speed is supposed to be controlled (to be allowed to be sold as electric bicycles... many stores/owners are altering them, and they can easily reach speed of 30-50 km/h

A scooter is a scooter, it shouldn't matter whether it has a gas power engine or electric power engine.

[bas]

I'd rather there be a ban on roller bladers skating hand in hand taking up the entire width of the path. The trail is in effect a roadway and people should keep to their lane, go the right direction in their lane, and be cognizant of other cyclists or bladers turning or stopping. It's not rocket science.

[John McCain]

It is about time these electric scooters are regulated. They weigh 80 kg and with an 70 kg rider that is a large mass coming at you typically at speeds up to 30 km/hr. A young child or elderly person could be easily killed if hit with one of these traveling at full speed.

Also the speed limit on the MG Trail is now 20 km/hr and typically these e-scooters are going 10 km/hr over even when the trail is congested.

As others have mentioned the fact they make no noise and approach without warning is just another reason to keep them off our trail systems. They belong on the road and should be categorized and regulated the same as a motorized scooter.

The problem is the vendors are misinforming the purchasers by saying these electric scooters can travel on the city's trail system which has not been the case for several years now.

[frustrated pedestrian]

Why can't every ding dong on a bike just get a bicycle BELL?! I guess people are too cool to warn people when they are sneaking up from behind, the same way they are too cool to wear helmets. Yeah, because endangering others and exposing yourself to potential brain damage IS SO COOL.

Get a bell!!!! Have some courtesy. I don't know how many times I've almost been plowed over by some silent cyclist.

[Alex]

I was shocked this summer while blading and saw actual mopeds on the trail that were street licienced. The trail is meant for joggers, bikes and rollerbladers as well as pedestrians. If it has a motor, it belongs on the street now matter how small it is.

[John]

It really rubs me that I am peddling like a fiend to keep up with traffic, dripping in sweat, following all the rules (helmet, light/reflector, little bell, signaling) and have somebody inch pass me in a fedora, smoking a cigarette.

Also, that electricity comes from somewhere (coal fired plant in Ohio, nuclear reactor in Pickering…) To say they are green is ignorant. Like a vegan that wears leather shoes.

[Brian Carleton]

Love it! Bicyclists complaining about the same things car drivers have been complaining about for years - inconsiderate cyclists! I've lost count of how many close calls I've had with bicyclists speeding on the sidewalk or through an intersection without even a glance. Bicyclists are the among the most self-obsessed, selfish people on the road - they move through traffic like they're walking and have no sense of shared space; it doesn't surprise me a bit that they want to do away with ebikes. The fact is, anything that gets people out of cars is good for all of us. We all just need to grow up a little and harken back to that first kindergarten lesson: sharing.

[BequiaT]

The issue here is not the e-bikes, it is the users of the path in general. I live about 20 feet from the Martin Goodman Trail, and have noticed that people - pedestrians, cyclists, bladers, etc. have no regard for the fact that the trail is a dangerous place. Kids run across it and into traffic, teens stand in crowds and ignore the traffic, and my favourite...Moms who leave their strollers alone on the path to chase after another kid or the dog. Common sense people - Don't teach your kids how to cycle on the path. Don't learn to rollerblade on the path. Look both ways before you cross the path. Parents, watch your kids and teach them that the path can be dangerous.