Kincardine council has decided to maintain the status quo when it comes to mobility scooters and bike lanes.
The recommendation was to keep everything as-is, and that mobility scooters were not allowed to use bike lanes within the municipality because of safety concerns.
Adam Weishar, who is the Director of Infrastructure and Development, says that according to the Highway Traffic Act, mobility scooters are defined as pedestrians, and should therefore use sidewalks when available.
“Specifically speaking to the mobility scooters, the Act is suggesting they should use sidewalks where available. One thing to keep in mind too… we’re still very much in the infancy stage in terms of what we offer and what we have available for bike lanes in the community. And generally speaking, what I call our arterial-type streets do have sidewalks available for pedestrian usage.”
He adds that because mobility scooters travel and slower speeds than vehicle traffic and bicycles, it would be a safety concern to have them on the road rather than on a sidewalk.
Councillor Beth Blackwell agreed, saying “You try to separate users based on speed and elements of safety and so a mobility scooter in and of itself is classified as a pedestrian, whereas bikes have to use the road whether or not there’s a bike lane, and some of our bike lanes do end and could have some conflicts between a vehicle and potential other users.”
She added that all was not lost for mobility-scooter friendly paths, saying that within the municipality’s master plan, there were recommendations for multi-use paths that were separate from traffic that would be able to accommodate alternative transportation methods.
“As we continue on to expand our non-vehicle transportation network, that there will be increased opportunities for safe passage for multiple different kinds of mobility devices,” says Blackwell.
