Updating the rules of the road for bicycles, e-bicycles and e-scooters in Ontario
by Jamie Stuckless, Executive Director, Share the Road Cycling Coalition
On May 1st, then-Minister of Transportation Jeff Yurek, announced that the province was embarking on a consultation about the rules of the road for bicycles, e-bicycles and e-scooters. As part of this consultation, we have the opportunity to present a forward-looking and impactful plan for making cycling safer for people in Ontario.
Over the past month, Share the Road has been conducting our own series of stakeholder consultations which were promoted on social media and through our newsletter. We have connected with over 200 stakeholders to date to develop a clear plan for cycling in Ontario. As we work to finalize our report and incorporate stakeholder feedback, we wanted to share an update on how it’s coming together.
Our framework
It won’t surprise you to hear that we see a huge opportunity to leverage cycling to address some of the greatest challenges we face in Ontario. You can check out our #BikesCanDoThat campaign for specifics on how cycling can help to reduce health care costs, contribute to safer roads for all road users, reduce traffic congestion and individual greenhouse gas emissions, and more.
Ontario has also been a leader in Canada when it comes to updating the rules of the road for cycling. We were the second province to implement the 1m safe passing law, invested more than $120 million in cycling infrastructure, updated our facility maintenance standards and are in the process of updating the provincial design guidelines for cycling. All of this is positive, but we know that our work is nowhere close to being done.
As part of this review – and over the next 3 years – we look forward to working with government to:
- Clarify the rights & responsibilities of road users to increase road safety;
- Recognize the difference between road users vulnerabilities and identify opportunities to enhance the safety of those who are most vulnerable;
- Identify ways to update the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) to reflect new evidence and best practices for sharing the road;
- Acknowledge the demand for cycling as a mode of transportation, recreation, tourism and goods movement and anticipate the continued growth of cycling, including e-bicycling;
- Anticipate and regulate micro-mobility options such as e-scooters, e-cargo cycles and other low speed modes of wheeled transportation that provide people with more transportation options, particularly for short trips.
Our recommendations
To achieve the objectives outlined above, Share the Road is recommending that we look for ways to make the following changes to the rules of the road in the short term:
- Clarify the rules & enforcement around cycling two-abreast (side-by-side);
- Enhance the language & enforcement related to the 1m safe passing law;
- Provide additional clarity related to cycling as far to the right as is safe;
- Start collecting and analyzing statistics on dooring collisions across Ontario;
- Recognize the vulnerability of people cycling with enhanced penalties for killing or seriously injuring vulnerable road users;
- Define e-bicycles in a way that recognizes the variety of models that exist and the differences between them, and;
- Permit kick-style e-scooters on roadways as part of a 2-year pilot project.
Changing the rules is not enough
We recognize that changing the rules of the road is not enough to make cycling safe. We also need to commit to building infrastructure that accommodates all road users, providing separation, clarity and enhanced safety.
As part of our overall strategy, Share the Road will seek to work with government and non-government partners to see that cycling infrastructure gets funded as part of the Ministry of Transportation’s capital budget. Six percent (6%) of Ontarians report cycling everyday or almost everyday, and yet we invest 0% of our provincial capital transportation budget in cycling. There is broad support for this, with 67% of Ontarians indicating that the province should allocate funding for cycling infrastructure.
We also need to ensure that people have the opportunity to learn the rules of the road, and how to navigate cycling infrastructure through cycling skills training courses. Making cycling skills training courses available to people across Ontario is absolutely crucial and we encourage the Ministry of Transportation & Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport to work together on provincial curriculum development and instructor training.
Our report will also outline opportunities for the province to enhance road safety by adopting a Vision Zero approach, implementing a School Travel Planning process for all new and restructured schools, enhancing enforcement of the 1m safe passing law with the use of radar detection devices and by enhancing driver education materials to include more information about bikes and how to do the Dutch Reach.
We’ll be releasing the full & updated report in the coming weeks. In the meantime, a huge thank-you to everyone who participated in our consultation conference calls and/or submitted feedback via email.
Together, we will make progress for cycling safety. Are you with us?
If you support this direction and want to see these impactful changes made in Ontario, make a donation in support of our advocacy work today. Every donation will amplify your voice for safe cycling at Queen’s Park.
