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Liz Sutherland <lizjsutherland@gmail.com>

Jan. 9, 2014, agenda item PW28.2: Electric Bikes - Proposed Policies and By-laws
1 message Liz Sutherland <lizjsutherland@gmail.com> To: pwic@toronto.ca Cc: Ana Bailo <councillor_bailao@toronto.ca>, Cycle Toronto <info@cycleto.ca> To the City Clerk: Please add my comments to the agenda for the Jan. 9, 2014, Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting on item PW28.2 (Electric Bikes - Proposed Policies and By-laws) I understand that my comments and the personal information in this email will form part of the public record and that my name will be listed as a correspondent on agendas and minutes of City Council or its committees. Also, I understand that agendas and minutes are posted online and my name may be indexed by search engines like Google. Comments: Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 10:29 AM

Dear Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC) members,

I am writing concerning Agenda item PW28.2 (Electric Bikes - Proposed Policies and By-laws). I would like to request that you continue to prohibit electric scooters in bike lanes until provincial law is clarified on the status of these vehicles. At the same time, I ask you not to shy away from having a long-overdue discussion on the broader road safety context that forces groups of vulnerable road users to squabble over the meagre protected space available on the vast network of Toronto's streets. With road deaths in 2013 hitting a ten-year high, this is not a conversation we can afford to delay.

First, let me address the question of vehicle categories. While e-bikes have a lighter environmental impact than larger motor vehicles and provide a good option for people with limited mobility, these vehicles come in a wide variety of weights and speed capabilities. Lighter pedal-assisted bicycles ("pedelecs") do not generally travel much faster than ordinary bicycles and should be welcomed on all types of cycling infrastructure, including protected and unprotected bike lanes and off-road trails. Larger, faster e-scooters, on the other hand, would pose an unacceptable safety hazard to cyclists if they were permitted to use bike lanes. The severity of a collision is related both to the weight of the vehicle and to the speed at which it travels. In the case of a rear-end collision, for instance, a 120 kg e-scooter travelling at 32 km/h could send a cyclist flying into an intersection with much greater force than a slower, lighter bicycle would. There is hardly any point in having bike lanes at all if cyclists are exposed to this kind of hazard in what should be a dedicated safe travelling zone. To see the larger issue, however, I encourage you to step back from this decision that pits cyclists against e-scooter riders. The latter group has good reason to be concerned for their own safety in general traffic lanes and to seek refuge in bike lanes. This zero-sum safety game highlights the fact that our streets are not safe for vulnerable road users in general. I encourage members of PWIC and indeed all councillors to consider more ambitious measures that would eliminate the need for these trade-offs between different groups of vulnerable road users. Reduced

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1/7/2014 12:17 PM

Gmail - Jan. 9, 2014, agenda item PW28.2: Electric Bikes - Proposed Pol...

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speed limits, safer intersections, and traffic calming measures would save lives and make the streets more accessible for all types of vulnerable road users. As Toronto's Chief Medical Officer argued in his 2012 report, Road to Health: Improving Walking and Cycling in Toronto, a 20 km/h reduction in posted speeds would measurably reduce traffic fatalities in the city. With Toronto's 2013 numbers at a ten-year high, we can no longer afford to be complacent about this death toll. Several years ago, the standard residential speed limit in Montreal was reduced from 50 km/h to 40 km/h. There is no reason we cannot do the same in Toronto. So today I request that you continue to allow cyclists some protection on the hundred or so kilometres of bike lanes that exist in this city by maintaining the prohibition on the use of heavier, faster e-scooters in these lanes. And I ask you not to postpone the much-needed broader discussion we must have about traffic safety in Toronto so that all vulnerable road users can travel without fearing for their lives. Sincerely, Liz Sutherland 282A Brock Avenue (Ward 18) Toronto, Ontario

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1/7/2014 12:17 PM