Breakenridge: Time to accommodate all modes of transportation on our roads

Last Friday’s decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal on bike lanes doesn’t have any direct bearing on the debate around or the future of bike lanes here in Alberta.

Of course, the court’s finding that “there is no Charter right to bicycle lanes” does clear the path for Ontario’s premier to proceed with plans to rip up various bike lanes in downtown Toronto.

That, in turn, will likely further embolden the Alberta government to proceed with their own plans. Surely Alberta can’t sit back and let Doug Ford’s government be the only ones to take on the hated bike lanes.

The disdain for cyclists and the perception that these holier-than-thou bike disciples feel entitled to co-opt vehicle infrastructure has certainly skewed this debate in a very political sense. There’s a genuine frustration for motorists when it comes to seeing underused bike lanes while being stuck in traffic or searching for parking.

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But it’s myopic to focus just on cyclists. We should be having a broader and more forward-looking conversation about safe and sensible transportation infrastructure. There’s a key element being left out of this debate: e-scooters.

Last month, in a rather transparent attempt to provide themselves with further justification for this plan, the province launched a web portal for Albertans to register complaints and concerns about existing bike lanes.

After receiving about 13,000 or so submissions, lo and behold the government is even more convinced that they are on the right track. Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen told Postmedia’s Rick Bell last week that legislation is indeed forthcoming this fall.

Essentially, for both existing and proposed bike lanes, municipalities will have to show evidence that it’s needed and won’t negatively impact the community.

In terms of just the sheer numbers of drivers versus cyclists, the amount of tears shed over fewer bike lanes won’t concern Alberta’s political leaders. But we should consider the consequences of removing or obstructing this infrastructure.

Whether it’s bicycles, e-bikes, or e-scooters, they are all examples of modes of transportation that we don’t want on the road alongside vehicles and we don’t want them on the sidewalk alongside pedestrians. But they aren’t going away, either.

What’s different now than was the case when cities started implementing bike lanes is the explosion in the use of e-scooters, both those that are privately owned and those that are utilized though the companies that have placed vast rental fleets on the streets of Calgary and Edmonton.

Health and safety experts have been sounding the alarm over the rising injury toll linked to greater e-scooter use. Much of that risk stems from the inherently dangerous interaction between those on e-scooters and those on foot.