An event hosted by Bird Canada aims to educate and encourage safe riding practices in Edmonton.
The event is providing information on how to properly, responsibly and safely ride and park e-scooters.
It’s also providing riders with general scooting best practices, such as rules for respecting pedestrians, businesses and traffic to ensure safe ride sharing in Edmonton.
Bird Canada’s tips include:
- Safe riding. Navigate traffic with care.
- Heightened awareness. Anticipate what others might do.
- Always alert. Save the selfies and music for after the ride.
- Respect for pedestrians. Yield and keep walkways accessible.
- Every voice matters. Get involved to help your city reshape its streets.
Bird Canada has 30 Birds onsite for attendees to test drive.
“We think that scooters, when used properly, are very safe.” said Alexandra Petre, general manager of Bird Canada. “People need to use common sense when using scooters, it is still a motor vehicle.”
Petre says riders should treat their scooters the same way they treat bikes. She says people need to ride scooters in the designated areas such as bike paths and roadways, not on sidewalks.
“When you do have to go on the sidewalk just because there is no bike path, or the road is very high speed, you should dismount the scooter and walk it.”
Petre says people should not ride the scooters while intoxicated, or ride with more than one person on a scooter at a time.
Free helmets are being given out to attendees of the safe riding event.
Wearing a helmet while riding scooters is not a required by law, but Petre says Bird Canada recommends the use of helmets on their scooters.
“We want to make sure everyone scoots safely.”
Edmonton has 400 Bird scooters currently in circulation.
The “s.h.a.r.e Safe Streets” tour will stop in every city that Bird Canada operates in.
The event runs until 5 p.m. Tuesday at Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park.
