E-scooters strewn across a sidewalk (Photo 189345534 © Cineberg Ug | Dreamstime.com)

By Kevin Rothwell

Potential lessons for Vernon

E-scooter pilot results in complaints

May 13, 2021 | 4:00 AM

Vernon may learn some lessons from Kelowna, as one of six B.C. communities taking part in an E-scooter pilot project launched by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The pilot has started in Kelowna and already resulted in a flood of complains to city hall.

Vernon has adopted some rules including that scooters be limited to travelling 24 kilometres per hour, drivers must be at least 16 years old, wearing a helmet and may not exceed the speed of pedestrians they are sharing a path with. Riders don’t need to have a drivers license.

On Monday May 10, council adopted the Electric Kick Scooter amendments to the traffic bylaw, adding that a person may not operate an Electric Kick Scooter on a Highway with a speed limit greater than 50 km/h, except on an active transportation corridor.

In Kelowna the roughly month-old provincial pilot program is already gathering critics, prompting the city to impose tougher restrictions on parking the little motorized units.

Kelowna says a photo must now be submitted when parking one of the shared standup scooters and anyone who leaves a scooter blocking a sidewalk or other public access will receive one warning, followed by a 10-dollar fine for any repeat offenses.

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Complaints to the city about the shared micro-transportation project range from helmet less riders to improper parking and dangers to pedestrians.

The three-year pilot allows Kelowna residents and tourists to zip around on the city’s roads and pathways using shared or privately-owned electric scooters, but critics say the program does not include docks where the shared units can be picked up or returned — meaning many users just drop them anywhere, once they have finished their trip.

-With files from the Canadian Press