E-Scooters Become a Question for Burlington Election Candidates

With Ontario's municipal and school board elections set for October 26, a disability rights advocate is asking voters to put one question to the names on their ballot: will you keep electric scooters out of public places?

David Lepofsky, who chairs the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, made the case in an opinion column for InsideHalton. He wants candidates for council to sign a municipal disability accessibility pledge covering three things: no e-scooters, no scramble intersections, and no bike paths built on sidewalks.

On e-scooters, his argument is about who gets hurt. Riders moving at more than 20 kilometres an hour arrive silently, which is the problem for anyone who cannot see them coming or step out of the way quickly. Scooters left lying on sidewalks are tripping hazards for blind pedestrians and obstacles for wheelchair users. Lepofsky writes that banning them from sidewalks alone has not worked in the cities that tried it, because no city has police on every sidewalk.

Scramble intersections are the second item. At those crossings all traffic stops during one phase and pedestrians cross in any direction, including diagonally. Lepofsky says that phase removes the traffic sounds blind and low vision pedestrians use to navigate, and that audible pedestrian signals do not fix the problem. The third item is bike paths built at sidewalk level instead of road level.

Burlington votes on October 26, which leaves a few weeks to put the question to anyone knocking on the door.