Victoria city council to consider allowing wheelchair users and mobility scooters in bike lanes

On Thursday, Victoria's city council will consider a motion for a pilot project to allow wheelchair and mobility scooters to use city bike lanes. 

Eric Doherty, a registered professional planner and a co-lead of a group called Greater Victoria Acting Together Climate Justice Action Research Team, is an advocate of the project. 

"To me, it's a no brainer as far as climate action to make it so more people — a broader section of the public — can use the cycling facilities that we are already building," Doherty said to host Robyn Burns on CBC's All Points West. 

Inspired by Victoria's triple AAA (All Ages and Ability) biking network, Doherty says the vision would allow mobility scooters and wheelchair users to use the bike lane. 

"Some people are riding very fast and some people are riding slower and the mobility scooters and wheelchairs just fit in with the slower speed cyclists," he said. "People who just aren't in a hurry, smaller children, people who aren't the competitive, go-fast cyclists and it just seems to work with the flow."

Peter Foran, who uses a motorized wheelchair to get around Victoria, has already started to use bike lanes. 

"I looked at the sidewalks being full and these beautiful new bike lanes and decided that was the fastest and least bumpy way to get downtown. I find the bicycles don't always appreciate me but we've learned to live with each other," Foran said. 

But Foran's forays into the bike lane are not exactly legal. 

Currently, it's not allowed for motorized scooters and wheelchairs to be riding in the bike lanes, Doherty said, even though he hasn't heard of anybody being ticketed.

"I have heard of people asking whether it is allowed and being told very emphatically by city staff and people who sell mobility scooters that it's just not allowed," he said.

"There are a fair amount of people who will obey laws even if they don't make much sense."

The provincial government amended the Motor Vehicle Act in 2019 to permit "motorized personal mobility devices" for use on any route a municipality designates as part of a pilot project — which is what Doherty hopes council will support.  

"This is not something that should be hard for municipalities to do," he said. 

As for Foran, he's not waiting for the pilot project to pass to keep motoring. 

"There's been no issue," he said.  "I think I'll be the first guy to get a ticket [and then] I'll take it to the Supreme Court."