2024 Edmonton debut of e-scooters waiting on city review
At this time last year, e-scooters had been patrolling Edmonton streets for almost a month.
This year, they have yet to make their debut — and likely won't until the end of this month.
Jenny Albers, Edmonton's general supervisor of planning and permitting, told media on Thursday the city and prospective vendors are "in the final stages of a request for proposal" and hopes to soon announce which companies will supply shared e-scooters and e-bikes, with the "micromobility" vehicles "hopefully on streets by the end of May."
Last year, Bird Canada and Lime operated e-scooters and e-bikes in Edmonton in the final year of a two-year permit program, with Bird deploying 750 e-scooters and 250 e-bikes on city pathways, Lime about 1,500 such vehicles.
According to a city operations report presented Thursday to city council's urban planning committee, administration is updating the city's e-scooter program "based on the results of a program review, jurisdictional scan and public engagement," adding it will "provide more consistent service across the city and improve supplier compliance."
The report also said e-scooter trips increased 124 per cent from 2022, e-bike trips went up six per cent, and total trip kilometres increased by 98 per cent.
It says new program features will include parking locations, no-parking zones, slow zones and no-ride zones.
Albers said the city will continue to expand parking corrals and add no-parking zones in places it doesn't want them parked.
Committee member Karen Teng, the councillor for Ward Karhiio, said some of the changes to the e-scooter program the city wants to see includes "elevating" expectations for safety and accessibility.
"We have invested heavily in active transportation to meet our goals for shifting our modes of transportation to achieve our livability, our climate goals, etc.," Teng told media.
"This is about creating more alternative modes of transportation on the road. It's creating more options for people to get around our city. The report has some impressive numbers on the growth of usage.
"It means Edmontonians are very open to it. They're using it. People are excited about it. We're hearing lots of commentary about why (e-scooters are) not on the road already, so there's an eagerness."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Milk sold in Canadian stores tested for avian flu: Results of 303 samples
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
Ontario patients visiting emergency rooms out of fear being booted by family doctor
Ontario patients are now visiting emergency departments out of fear of being de-rostered from their doctor’s office – a loophole that results in hospitals dealing with non-urgent cases, and disrupts continuity of care paramount to family medicine, according to health-care experts.
Top Russian military officials are being arrested. Why is it happening?
It began last month with the arrest of a Russian deputy defense minister. Then the head of the ministry’s personnel directorate was hauled into court. This week, two more senior military officials were detained. All face charges of corruption, which they have denied.
Outdated rules and mounting losses: Can anything be done to fix Canada Post?
Canada Post needs drastic measures to staunch the fiscal bleeding and revamp its operations after a tough decade, experts say.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
What is 'slapped cheek disease' and should parents be concerned?
Despite its rough name, experts say most cases of 'slapped cheek disease' are mild and not a cause for concern.
Putin wants Ukraine ceasefire on current frontlines, Reuters sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognizes the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond.
Trillions of cicadas are emerging in the U.S. Here's what they sound like
Two broods of periodical cicadas are emerging in the United States simultaneously for the first time since 1803. Here is what their deafening buzz sounds like.
Ontario mother denied boarding flight with her family after ticket mistake
A dream vacation for an Ontario family quickly turned to frustration when a mother’s name on a ticket didn’t match the name on her passport, meaning she was left behind while her husband and two children flew to France.