Fredericton councillors vote down proposal to limit power, speed of e-scooters on trails

A proposal to put a limit on how powerful e-scooters can be when used on Fredericton's multi-use trails has been rejected by councillors on the mobility committee.

During a meeting of the committee, City of Fredericton traffic engineer Tyson Aubie presented proposed amendments that would ban e-scooters rated beyond 500 watts in power from use on the trails.

The proposed amendment would also see the restriction of e-scooters and e-bikes capable of exceeding 32 km/h on the city's trails.

Other proposed amendments included broadening the definition of a "motor vehicle," creating definitions for newer devices like e-scooters and e-bikes, adding a definition for "pedestrian," and adding guidelines to communicate trail etiquette such as recommended speeds.

Following Aubie's presentation, Deputy Mayor Greg Ericson, a member of the committee, said he took issue with the proposal to put a cap on the power e-scooters are allowed to have.

Ericson said he can go up to 50 km/h riding his bicycle, and therefore be as much of a hazard to a walker as someone on an e-scooter, which would be banned from the trails under the proposed amendment.

"And we're not telling anyone that they can't use a bicycle because it can go faster than 32 kilometres an hour. So it seems in some senses, we're creating a regulatory rule or perspective that doesn't kind of align with how we do things normally."

Ericson said limiting the power of e-scooters would also be unfair to someone who's heavier and requires more power from their device in order to go further and travel up hills.

Aubie, in response said the idea behind introducing the cap on speed and power was to prevent the possibility of someone travelling 80 km/h on the trail on a more powerful scooter.

"I totally appreciate everything you said," Aubie said. "It was all in things we've debated.

"I don't think the conversation is over either. I think it is something we should be talking about as far as the speeds are concerned."

He said there might be more conversations about speed limits on specific portions of a trail like the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge.

Ericson moved to forward the proposed changes but without the speed and power limits for e-scooters and e-bikes.

All members of the committee aside from Coun. Eric Megarity voted in favour of the change.

According to a staff report, next steps will see the city's legal team prepare the amendments, which will be brought back to council for approval.

Disagreement from committee chair

Coun. Bruce Grandy, chair of the mobility committee, said he would have kept the proposed amendment to place power and speed limits on e-scooters if he'd been able to vote on the motion.

Grandy said many of the scooters are already capped at about 32 km/h, but there are others meant for the roads, which are capable of going up to 70 km/h.

"They're two different types of devices. So you have to say, do you want a 50-kilometre-an-hour, you know, electric vehicle on on our trails or not? Is it safe? You know, I'm not sure."

Grandy said there have been "a lot of conflicts" on the trails caused by the proliferation of e-scooters and other new devices in recent years.

He said the remedy will require bylaw updates, education and some policing.

"I mean, we had the trail enforcement group a number of years back. Do you bring that back? I don't know the solution.

"But I know that we need to have a discussion about that because you just can't leave it all out there on its own. I mean, you know, we got to keep reminding people to be respectful, and you can only do that by educating people."