Vancouver Park Board passes motion to allow e-bikes, electric scooters on cycling paths

At the end of a long Monday night meeting, the Vancouver Park Board approved an amendment to a bylaw to allow electric scooters and e-bikes on designated cycling paths in park-controlled areas of the seawall.

According to the City of Vancouver, electric bikes and scooters were not previously allowed on the part of the seawall regulated by the park board.

Prior to the meeting, Paul Storer, the director of transportation with the City of Vancouver, said the motion was “very important to improve active transportation in the city.”

Cycling advocate Lucy Maloney says the newly amended bylaw will also allow people with different disabilities to enjoy the entire seawall.

“I think it is an amazing opportunity to promote active transport and improve accessibility for people who don’t use the biking paths on a conventional bike,” she said.

“People with osteoarthritis or vision impairment, who can’t drive a car but can ride an e-bike, that’s an opportunity for them to have good access at the parks.”

According to the Vancouver Transportation Survey, in 2022, more than 20,000 households in Vancouver owned an e-scooter or another micro mobility device, and more than 31,000 residents rode an e-bike.

Storer says the devices will have to follow provincial rules when it comes to speeds on the seawall. Electric scooters will be limited to 25 kilometres per hour and the maximum speed for an e-bike will be 32 kilometres per hour.

With the amendments now approved, Storer says next steps will be figuring out how to implement and enforce the required speed limits.

“I personally haven’t found it to be a problem with safety with electric scooters and e-bikes,” Maloney said. “I found that a vast majority of these users are responsible, so it’s not like there isn’t already a variety of cycling trying to use a shared bike path.”