Cold Lake city council is asking the province for guidance regarding regulating mobility aids on public streets, sidewalks, and trails.
Electric aids such as scooters are useful for people with mobility problems. People using them are considered pedestrians, meaning they are allowed on trails, sidewalks, and roadways to get around just as a person walking would be.
The increasing popularity of enclosed mobility aids, which resemble cars, has raised questions about safety and liability. Since users do not need a driver’s licence, insurance, or registration, it is not clear how rules would apply in a collision with a pedestrian, cyclist, or motor vehicle on a trail or roadway.
“That is really the question,” said Cold Lake mayor Craig Copeland. “We’ve seen them on the streets and on the Millennium Trail, and then going from the trail onto a street and back onto the trail. So right now we’re just asking the province who sets the rules on it. Is it going to be a provincial matter or is it going to be a municipal matter?”
A popular brand of mobility vehicle is the Gio, which outwardly resembles a smaller version of a “smart car.” Its speed is limited to 29 kilometres per hour—comparable to a bicycle’s speed.
“It could be compared to something like a golf cart. It doesn’t go very fast, but it’s still
almost 700 pounds barreling down the trail,” said Copeland. “We’re starting to see a handful of them around and understand more residents are ordering them. If an accident or collision were to occur, there’s a lot of loose ends as to how it could be resolved.”
“We’ve had complaints from people on Millennium Trail of these units going by and people are just startled because it’s something big and unique,” he said. “We just need to understand from an enforcement standpoint and then work with the various people that own them in the community.”
Copeland says he understands the practicality and the appeal of enclosed mobility aids.
“I can understand why people are getting them, I really can. I just think that we all need to work together as [operators of] motorized vehicles and scooters, and then when you’re on bikes on the Millenium Trail or just walking, everybody has to respect one another,” he said.
Copeland says Cold Lake won’t be introducing new regulations until they have heard back from the province.
“Right now we’re just going to continue as is and wait for the province to get back to us,” he said. “They have responded to one municipality already, and basically said that the municipality needs to deal with it from a regulation standpoint.
“So if that’s the answer back, then fine, we’ll work with it. But we think the province might want to speak on it because I don’t think we’re going to be the only community faced with it.”
