Is it time to get electric mobility scooters and wheelchairs off sidewalks? Langley city council thinks so

Should designated bike lanes make room for electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters? Langley city council thinks so.

Langley senior Linda Hiller’s electric scooter has become a lifeline since an injury last year.

“I fell a couple of times, so my sister bought it for me,” the 72-year-old explained.

But sometimes, she worries about using her device on the sidewalks.

“The sidewalk over there on the corner is all bumpy and I’m afraid I’m going to tip over,” she explained.

Under B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act, electric mobility scooters and wheelchairs have to follow the same rules as pedestrians, meaning they can only use a sidewalk or a crosswalk, but not a protected bike lane.

“I think it’s fine to have them on the sidewalks. It’s better than having them on the road where they could get hit by a car,” said Langley senior Connie Pigeau, 92. She said she walks every day and has never had an issue with e-devices on the sidewalks.

But Langley city councillors say they are hearing about conflicts between pedestrians and fast-moving e-devices and believe it’s time to get them off sidewalks.

Coun. Paul Albrecht believes it’s becoming a public safety issue.

“(E-devices) seem to be very quiet and sneak up on people,” he said.

“In the City of Langley, we’ve got an aging demographic. They don’t hear as well, they’re not as mobile. (Scooters) can come up on them, and quite frankly startle them quite intensely,” Albrecht explained.

He and his fellow councillors want electric mobility scooters and wheelchairs permitted in protected bike lanes and on low-speed roadways.

It’s an issue not just in Langley, but other B.C. communities.

“If a fast-moving wheelchair or electric mobility device was not on a sidewalk, yes, I think it would be better for pedestrians,” said Peter Ladner, an experienced cyclist and chair of the board for the B.C. Cycling Coalition.

“The pedestrians should be protected,” he said, explaining that he’s OK with e-mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs using bike lanes.

“I think they should be free to go wherever they want,” he said. “When I was in a wheelchair after a bad accident, I had to wheel up and down the roads in my neighbourhood because the sidewalks had curbs on them. I couldn’t get up and over the curbs.”

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said he understands Langley city’s council would like to see changes, but that it’s not something government will do at the current time.

“It requires changes to legislation. That’s a fairly significant process and not something that we’re planning for this session or the fall session,” the minister said.

Farnworth said it’s something his ministry might look at in the future.

Meanwhile, Albrecht said he hopes to gain support for changes from the Union of B.C. Municipalities this fall.