Weekend enforcement campaign to target Edmonton e-scooter misuse

The City of Edmonton willconduct anotherenforcement blitz against e-scooter misuse this weekend, the city said Friday.

Peace officers will focus their attention on areas where e-scooter use is highest, such as the downtown core and around Old Strathcona.

Enforcement will consist of warnings and tickets. The fine for misusing a scooter is $100.

Current rules stipulate that e-scooters can be used on bike lanes, shared pathways and roads where the speed limit is 50 km/h or lower. They cannot be used on sidewalks, vehicle lanes for patio use, or park trails not owned by the city.

Following the weekend, officers will still be monitoring e-scooter use during their regular patrols. Additional enforcement campaigns may take place this summer, the city said in a release.

The first enforcement push was conducted between May 21 and 24resultingin 127 warning and 17 tickets being issued.

Prior to that, no fines were issued for e-scooter violations since they were introduced in July 2019.

A total of 4,000 machines are in use in the city and are operated by three companies: Spin, Lime and Bird.

Earlier this year, some business owners in areas where e-scooter traffic is highest criticized the lack of enforcement.

A survey conducted by the city in December 2020 garnered 1,553 responses, with 95 per cent of respondents saying they've seen e-scooters being driven on sidewalks at least once and 10 per cent saying they've collided with one.