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

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Comments

[Rapunzel]

I ride an e-bike and I am very disappointed by this by-law and people's reactions to e-bikes in general. I look young and healthy but I actually suffer from several painful medical conditions that prevent me from using a regular bike. I find the complaints about e-bikes very sad. My bike is actually louder than a regular bike. I always warn cyclists if I am going to pass and, unlike many cyclists, I actually follow the rules of the road. My e-bike has given me so much more freedom to move around the city to legislate away my right to use this bike would take away my ability to run errands and travel around the city. I am often surprised by regular cyclists who fly by me on the road. My bike has a maximum speed of thirty whereas many cyclists on the road travel much faster. I have been verbally abused by cyclists for 'going to slowly.' I have never once seen an e-bike ridden on a sidewalk but I see cyclists riding on the sidewalk next to the bike lane on a daily basis. Just as I have never seen an e-bike run a red light or a stop sign yet I see cyclists blowing through stops every single day. I have several times been nearly struck by a cyclist breaking the law but not once have I had a run-in with someone on an e-bike. My bike is far better for the environment than driving and the TTC is expensive, unreliable and takes forever to get you where you are going. My husband can spend 1.5 hours on the ttc getting to work, twenty minutes in a car or half an hour on his e-bike, which option would you choose if you were he? Three hours away from his baby travelling each day or one hour on a zero emmissions e-bike or forty minutes in a car. He chooses the environmentally friendly way that gets him home with his family. Don't legislate away my freedom of movement. I wish that I did not have to hear crabby cyclists making derogatory comments about my choice to ride an e-bike, they are so miserable in their own lives that they want to take away the pleasure I experience in finally having the freedom to move around Toronto without using my car. Why do they have to berate me for achieving some freedom just because I happen to be stopped at a red light on an e-bike - as they risk their life and the lives of others as they run the red.

[Fab50]

They've got it backwards in Fenelon Falls. Our home backs onto a lovely trail that leads into town with many homes and cottages on our populated section of the trail. Many pedestrians and cyclists use the trail but so do loud, dangerous ATVS. Ebikes are banned. Go Figure. I'd take the ebikes any day over the atvs.

[Simon Leigh]

Exercise is important, and e-bike users are just sitting down not getting any. And soon e-bikes will be as fast as motorbikes.

[apisa]

No motor vehicles can be on bike paths please. Most of them go over 60km/h. They are owning the trails.

[Lolita]

Those so called ebikes (scooters with useless pedals) and accessibility scooters should have maximum speeds. For -Ebikes, no faster than the average speed of a manually pedalled bike in the bike lane. As for mobility scooters, no faster than a pedestrian since they tend to be on sidewalks. Maybe then they won't make it to the front of the line of the buffet.

[Nite Owl]

Oh Well. So much for the idea that the disabled would be able to use e-bikes to get around a little easier. It's better we stay hidden so the healthy can enjoy their little paths without having to look at us. Funny thing though. When I got hit by a cyclist he was flying along but he didn't have a motor. Maybe we should institute an eight kilometer an hour speed limit for all bicycles.

[dan]

As an owner of an electric scooter or "e-bike", I also appalaud this rule. Above comments are correct, they are 120kgs easily, big and bulky, and do not belong on the bike paths. however, I think, as is our tax-paying right, we should be allowed the side of the roads just like bicycles. Perhaps a permit, or license, to keep those 16 year old irresponsible jerks driving on sidewalks and not using turn signals away from these, but any haters who call out for bans on these are really just too used to your massive SUV's and trucks on the road to accept other and eco-friendly options for travel. Try one, save the earth, save your wallet. They are a rising trend that ain't dying anytime soon

[Tubbs]

I continue to be astonished by the lack of ability by Torontonians to safely conduct ourselves in public spaces. That is the deeper issue here. It's not just e-bikes, cyclists, pedestrians and cars. The Martin Goodman Trail and like paths are shared spaces. Use common sense and treat it like you're in someone else's yard. It can be so simple yet people don't seem to get it. Keep right except to pass, slow down when approaching other path or trail users. Allow enough space between you and other users when passing. A simple "ring" of a bell or honk of a horn or a "I'm passing on your left" then a "thank you" afterwards is easy enough to do yet so many of us don't get it. You wouldn't drive your car willy nilly on the road, why do that with your e-bike or bicycle?

[compiler]

I'm shocked by the venom of some posters in this space towards alternative, clean powered vehicles. Lakeshore Road is a 60km zone and a highway (2). We have both types of ebikes and often take them through the neighborhood. It's scary to be on the busy streets because cyclists avoid Lakeshore Road (cars) and indeed the volume of all kinds of traffic makes it dangerous. Rather than prohibiting ebikes or licensing them, maybe posting a speed limit or mention to gear down in high foot traffic areas would be better.

[Chris]

My 30km/h speed limited ebike gets passed by 40km/h racing bikes all the time. They're also quieter than mine. The problem here is the term ebike is mis-interpreted by many readers (just read the very ignoramus comments some post). What they're really referring to is those electric scooters that get passed off as ebikes simply because they have removeable pedals. My ebike is a true bike. The bike component is a Giant Sedona lx you can get at any bike shop. The battery, console and hub motor are added afterwards. This is a true ebike!!!

[Don]

This infuriates me. I can't believe the bunch of commenters describing how these inanimate objects weave in and out of traffic and don't obey rules. I want to throw a toaster at all of their faces, simply because I want to study them again in their continuation of stupidity while they try to ban toasters. The solution is to apply speed limits and other rules to ALL bikes, and nail the people acting like idiots, not ban a viable alternative to traffic congestion and pollution. Street vehicles like scooters probably have no place on these trails, but battery assisted bicycles? Holy snappin gestapo, batman.

[ibivi]

Oh please, people riding muscle powered bikes have often blocked my way as I was walking on the sidewalk. Once a guy came zooming past me so fast he missed crashing into me by inches. As I've gotten older I don't have enough strength to pedal a bike but I have been thinking getting a motorized bike that would do most of the work for me. Am I not entitled some consideration to enjoy an ebike in a car-free environment? With posted rules and consideration of others by all users it can be a safe and pleasant ride for everyone.

[compiler]

So make a commuter lane simply for those who want to go fast but not get killed by a car. Too bad for everyone else who wants to call the Martin Goodman trail a bike lane. It's not when pedestrians use it. Car culture dictates that they have road use priority and scorn cyclists. Time to devise alternate routes throughout the city for mobility for bikes, ebikes, power assisted, electric etc. It's part of our commitment in long term to emissions reduction.

[sharpy]

Guess it's time to attach my dog team to my bike that way we can have 8 dogs and a bike with no motor that is twice as dangerous as an e-bike! I blame drivers not what they ride!

[randall gwizd]

Most of the comments disgust me.More licencing,more tax,more laws,a police state so we feel safe.You all seem to want to take away my freedom .Lets talk about something none of you's have courage to address,electric wheelchairs they are very heavy ,can go up a hill faster than I can jog,take up the whole sidewalk,are silent,most people that use them should be walking for their health.They block the Isles in every place of buisness legally because we made more laws.All you people who think you are speacial because you walk,jog,rollerblade,pedal your bike in front of everyone to see,look at me particapation,nice leotards nice brain bucket awsome kneepads.Do you all enjoy the the horns? I myself like the silence,don,t even want to hear myself panting from pedaling.Love my ebike.Those of you's that don't I can tell you where the lake is from the martin goodman trail and what to do when you get there.

[Herbie Hancock]

That bylaw already existed, it's just the sign was put up. I ride my Hub style converted full suspension mounting bike to and from work every day for the simple reason is it takes me only 25min from Etobicoke to Down down. When I drive, it could take me up to 45min or more. If I'm forced off the trail and on Lake shore BLVD, I will most likely get killed, so I'll risk a ticket and gladly go to court all the way up. At least I'll be alive. What's my alternative?

Roller blades take up the entire lane, cyclists riding 2 or 3 barest, people walking on it and there is a sidewalk right there beside it. I'm on the grass more than the trail. You cannot simply ban e-bikes from the trail unless a suitable alternative is provided. I'll never stop, even if I get pulled over from a policeman, I'll be back on it the next day.

The world is changing, would you rather I drove my car every day and polluted? I would suggest allowing motorized bikes on the bicycle path only, during the hours of 7-9am and 4-6pm. During these times, there is practically nobody on the path anyway except commuters. After hours the trail is useless as people meander all over it anyway.

[Herbie Hancock]

One addendum to this sorry. That trail is wide, and there is still a TON of space on either side. I see no reason both cannot be accommodated, 2 lanes each way. Why not? I pay the same taxes, and the government is trying to encourage alternatives.

[Rugstars]

Its due to gas prices are going higher every day. Even in wholesale market gas prices are going down. Good idea to ride a bike with out motor.

[Call to Bangladesh]

E-bike shouldn't be an issue. Electrycity might be obtained by renovable power sorces as solar panels or wind generators. E-bikes are great and environment friendly.

[Lee]

This is a great way to key the area clean and encourage people to be more active with regular bikes. A person will burn more calories this way thus making them healthier. We have just had a trail for bikers and walkers in our area and I wish law was in effect here also to keep the pollution down.

[Jessica]

I wonder who is actually going to watch out for this. The sign is there but if no one is there to enforce the rule, I doubt it will do much good!

[chantalm]

It is uncommon for a by-law to be implemented for absolutely no logical reason. This case is no exception. If the City of Toronto went to the effort to pass this by-law, there is most definately a reason for it. Personally, I find it extremely frustrating to have motorized bikes whizzing past me when I am cycling on public bike pathways. Cyclists on bikes like these have tendencies to dart around regular cyclists with little respect, which only increases the risk of collision. Ask anyone who has been hit by a regular bicycle, and he or she will gladly share with you the pain of the unpleasant experience. Now escalate that pain by adding a faster moving, motorized bike into the picture. It's completely understandable, and in fact, makes perfect sense to me why this by-law was passed.
I understand that these electric bikes may be considered green methods of transportation, and that they may allow transportation to be faster and easier for their owners. However, I feel that when contemplating whether or not these motorized vehicles should be allowed on bike trails, safety should be the number one priority. I feel that bike trails will be safer and more efficient for recreational cyclists if these trails were limited to "muscular-powered" bikes only.