- cross-posted to:
- toronto@lemmy.ca
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Micro mobility isn’t the problem, it’s the future of sustainable person transportation. The problem is that we’re not updating our infrastructure.
They’re on the sidewalk because they’ll be killed in the car lanes, and those are the only options. We need better bike (and by extension micro mobility) infrastructure. And not just random lanes that don’t go anywhere, we need a whole network. Cars get it, so why shouldn’t a safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly solution?
I hate that cars can go around running over people every single day without making the news, but this e-scooter accident is supposedly worthy of national news.
Every accident is regrettable, but the number of accidents we tolerate from scooters and bikes can’t be zero. Micro mobility is still MUCH safer than cars. I bet if the e-scooter driver was killed by an unnecessarily big truck on the road, it would still be called an “e-scooter accident” if it even made the news at all.
The regulation that the city needs is that whenever roads are rebuilt they should prioritize transport options as follows: wheelchairs/pedestrians > bicycles > e-scooters/e-bikes > transit > compact cars > pedestrian mutilators (a.k.a. pickup trucks and SUVs). It is preposterous that some residential roads today don’t even have sidewalks.
They should also eliminate right turns on red, which are as hostile to pedestrians and bicycles as it gets.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve personally almost been run over while on bike because of that, but even worse, when crossing the street the after the light turns green. Most drivers don’t look the way they’re going, and instead solely pay attention to the colour of the pretty lights overhead like three month olds.
Pedestrians/wheelchairs should ALWAYS be separated from vehicles (and that’s including bikes) with physical barriers, and bikes separated from cars with physical barriers anywhere the speed limit’s greater than 20km/h. And speed limits shouldn’t be enforced with simply signs, but actually physical barriers that prevent speeding, like regular turns or speed bumps.
Drivers are so entitled in this country that they complain about being ticketed by the police when they’re the ones knowingly breaking the laws. Laws that exist because people kill each other due to carelessness if it wasn’t for these laws! And people DO kill each other constantly despite these laws! I mean, if most statistics didn’t lump in cars together with all other accidents, cars alone would be the 11th leading cause of death in the States!
E-scooters should be on the sidewalk unless there’s a properly bike/scooter lane for them
Better the sidewalk than the road, cars are way more dangerous than scooters
So long as they aren’t going full speed while on sidewalks and they’re adjusting their speed according to the number of pedestrians, I fully agree. Sometimes you have to go at a walking pace on a crowded sidewalk, and if it’s an empty suburban sidewalk with clear visibility, I see no problem at all.
They go fast enough to keep up with bikes. They should be treated as such.
They go fast enough to outpace bikes. There is absolutely no reason these should be on a sidewalk.
I mean really, infrastructure should be in place to allow for proper mixed use transport where bikes and scooters wouldn’t need to share the road with cars, but the solution is not to instead share the sidewalk with pedestrians.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
She remembers walking north on Jane Street in late June, on her way to work, when she heard the bell of an e-scooter ringing from behind her.
Earlier this summer, Toronto city council voted to pump the brakes on the latest bid to study legalizing e-scooters.
Staff are studying how different light-weight vehicle types including cargo bikes/trikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters could be used on city streets to reduce emissions and improve safety on Toronto’s roads.
The latest bid to legalize e-scooters comes two years after council decided to ban the small motorized vehicles on city streets, citing safety concerns.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind has been among the groups speaking up about the dangers of e-scooters, especially for people with vision or hearing disabilities.
Nisha Mitchell, the program lead for advocacy, accessible community engagement for the CNIB in the Greater Toronto Area, said there must be mandatory technology to prevent scooters from being driven at high speeds and on sidewalks.
The original article contains 939 words, the summary contains 159 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
If something is already banned, more rules isn’t the solution, better enforcement is the next step.
