Should Toronto seize e-bikes and e-scooters from riders on sidewalks? One councillor thinks so
CBC
E-bike and e-scooter riders in Toronto may soon have a new obstacle in their path, with one city councillor proposing police confiscate their electric mobility devices if they're caught riding on the sidewalk.
In a new motion, Coun. Jon Burnside notes public education campaigns and traffic blitzes haven't done enough to keep e-travellers off sidewalks, so "sadly, more enforcement power (seizing of items) is needed to reinforce the messaging as the number of injuries is increasing."
"They have the potential to go quite quickly and hurt people seriously," Burnside said of the devices. "I think we need to be taking this more seriously than we have been."
In Toronto, it's legal to own an e-scooter, but illegal to ride one on any public road. As for e-bikes, city regulations dictate that they run on no more than 500 watts of power and have a maximum speed of 32 km/hr. E-bikes are allowed on roads and in bike lanes, but it's illegal to ride them on the sidewalk.
Electric bikes and scooters can cost as much as $20,000.
"The potential to have things seized will send a message that you can't ride on the sidewalk," Burnside said.
Burnside's motion, to be introduced at council Wednesday, calls on city staff to determine whether seizures are legal.
But lawyer Alan Preyra, who specializes in municipal law, says he sees no reason why police couldn't temporarily seize the vehicles from those riding illegally on sidewalks in the same way they're allowed to temporarily seize cars from motorists accused of stunt driving or driving drunk.
"It's not novel," he said. "Micromobility devices are large, they're silent and they're a peril to the young, the elderly and the disabled."
A province-to-province patchwork of rules governs where and how e-bikes and e-scooters can be ridden, with municipalities setting most of the guidelines.
For instance, next door to Toronto, in Mississauga, it’s legal to ride e-scooters on public roads. In contrast, the city of Calgary allows e-scooters to be used on some sidewalks.
Burnside said he has only anecdotal evidence about injuries caused by e-travellers operating on sidewalks.
A recent study by St. Michael's Hospital found injuries related to the devices are rising annually.
Between 2020 and 2024, the hospital said the number of trauma cases it treated rose from 15 to 51 — an increase of 240 per cent — and e-scooter injuries were up from four to 28.
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