City council voted unanimously in 2021 not to participate in the province’s e-scooter pilot program.
3+ years, plus a few extra more, before they knew about the pilot. The city simply seems incapable of adapting to the needs of a changing world.
Yes, ban rentals. They are garbage and cause problems for everyone else, but don't ban private e-scooters.
“Blind people don’t know when silent e-scooters rocket at them at over 20 KPH, driven by unlicensed, untrained, uninsured, unhelmeted, fun-seeking joyriders,” the groups said in a joint statement.
Nonsense, unless you also want mobility scooters, and both regular and e-bikes to be banned, too.
Cars kill people, and e-scooters being used away from sidewalks pose no danger to blind pedestrians. If you want to make the city safer, get people out of their cars and using micromobility or public transportation.
The problem is that the main opposition is led by David Lepofsky, an advocate for the blind who has been extremely negative towards anything offered to sighted people.
You can clearly see this (no pun intended) in the "fun seeking joyriders" snide remark in the statement.
He has never once offered a compromise or solution to any objection.
I've heard his rhetoric for years, and most of it is just propaganda trash. He wants ONLY the blind to have accessibility, discounting the fact that micromobility also allows people with other disabilities to move freely.
“Left strewn on sidewalks, e-scooters are tripping hazards for blind people and accessibility nightmares for wheelchair users.”
Yes, this I agree with, which is why rental e-scooters should be banned. Nobody with a private e-scooter does this, so punishing everyone isn't right.