[UntitledCyclist]

I drop my kids off via Ebike all the time.

Illegal to ride a bike now?

To carry kids on it, yes. Apparently has been for some time. I think we should give this law as much respect as e-scooter riders give that ban.

When the law is unreasonable, unfair and unscientific, we should push to change it but in the meantime ignore it completely.

 

[Coolibop]

To carry kids on it, yes. Apparently has been for some time. I think we should give this law as much respect as e-scooter riders give that ban.

When the law is unreasonable, unfair and unscientific, we should push to change it but in the meantime ignore it completely.

Agreed. I'm not sure carrying children in a trailer behind your ebike, for example, is against the law... I suspect the fear may be with those high-up seats fastened to ebikes which can get up to quite high speeds. I would consider that quite dangerous versus the trailer or cargo type.

 

[UntitledCyclist]

Agreed. I'm not sure carrying children in a trailer behind your ebike, for example, is against the law...

Possibly not, but most people with fancy cargo bikes get those because they don't need a trailer. The kid-carrying bucket is built in (either up front our on the back) and it feels and IS more secure than a trailer with a hitch dragging behind the bike. So yes, possible loophole but not a great one for many.

 

[Coolibop]

Possibly not, but most people with fancy cargo bikes get those because they don't need a trailer. The kid-carrying bucket is built in (either up front our on the back) and it feels and IS more secure than a trailer with a hitch dragging behind the bike. So yes, possible loophole but not a great one for many.

I edited my post as you were writing this...interesting re the bucket being more secure. It would seem to me more dangerous in an accident at high speed...

 

[UntitledCyclist]

I edited my post as you were writing this...interesting re the bucket being more secure. It would seem to me more dangerous in an accident at high speed...

I don't have stats, and frankly the numbers of people in this country that own a proper e-cargo bike are limited by infrastructure, storage space and the high costs (often in the $10K range for a reputable Euro or U.S. brand). I'm not sure how you'd assume the trailer is safer in a high speed collision, I guess it depends on if the trailer was hit or the bike, but as a parent, having your kid behind you on a separately towed wheeled vehicle feels innately less safe than having them closer to you, in sight or directly behind you. Perhaps there are european stats on this, but I don't have the sense trailers are very common there, so it might be hard to make a valid comparison!

 

[TheGrimSweeper]

I don't have stats, and frankly the numbers of people in this country that own a proper e-cargo bike are limited by infrastructure, storage space and the high costs (often in the $10K range for a reputable Euro or U.S. brand). I'm not sure how you'd assume the trailer is safer in a high speed collision, I guess it depends on if the trailer was hit or the bike, but as a parent, having your kid behind you on a separately towed wheeled vehicle feels innately less safe than having them closer to you, in sight or directly behind you. Perhaps there are european stats on this, but I don't have the sense trailers are very common there, so it might be hard to make a valid comparison!

100% agree with this. For reference I have a trailer and also a single seat I've used on my E-Bike.

The trailer feels far less safe to me then having my kid right behind me in a secure seat.

My almost 7 year old is getting too tall for the trailer though so I have been considering something like an Aventon Abound E-Cargo Bike with 2 seats enclosed in the secure bars.

 

[nfitz]

Military police? In Toronto?

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

From the article...

Opposition Transportation critic Jennifer French said the ban tells you everything you need to know about the Ford government’s attitude toward cyclists.​

​

“This is not a government that is interested in hearing from cyclists. I think that they seem to consider them a fringe group,” said French, who linked the e-bike rules to the province’s plan to rip out bike lanes.​

​

French said parents who came to committee to express their concerns were brushed aside by the Progressive Conservatives.​

​

“It doesn’t make any sense that they would go forward with something that creates such havoc when I think the spirit of any e-bike legislation is meant to make things easier,” she said.​

 

[Coolibop]

I'm not sure how you'd assume the trailer is safer in a high speed collision...

Simply because the bike falls over with its occupants in it. In a neutral state, the cargo carrier just stops where the bike ends up. It also has additional protection provided by the frame surrounding occupants.

 

[Voltz]

Military police? In Toronto?

The article said in Kingston, on the base.

And MP's are known to be, well, picky, to be polite about it.

 

[UntitledCyclist]

Simply because the bike falls over with its occupants in it. In a neutral state, the cargo carrier just stops where the bike ends up. It also has additional protection provided by the frame surrounding occupants.

ok, this debate is way off topic now, but consider the extra risk of having a low-slung trailer several feet behind a bike. It relies on both the cyclists' sense of the extra length but more important drivers' attention. To me this extra length and height differential negates a lot of theoretical protection provided by the mostly flimsy trailers I've seen. Trailers also have tendencies to roll on tight turns and jacknife in some circumstances (not to mention the difficulties trying to back up with a trailer!). But yes, points taken. There are pluses and minuses, and I think we should move back to Toronto bike friendliness or unfriendliness

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

In Ontario, cyclists should generally ride on the right side of the road, at least one meter from the curb or parked cars, but can use any part of the lane for safety, including the centre, and must obey bicycle traffic signals if present.

In Toronto, traffic lane widths generally range from 3.0 to 4.3 metres. Subtract 1 metre for a cyclist from the curb or parked car, and allowing ~1.5 metres clearance for motorists to pass the cyclists, and allowing ~60-75 centimetres width for a two-wheeled bicycle, that means a bicycle could use an ENTIRE traffic lane.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

You can either use road space efficiently, or you can have cars.Transporting 200 people: in busses (0:31 minutes) in trams (0:32 minutes) walking (0:38...

36K views · 692 reactions | You can either use road space efficiently, or you can have cars. Transporting 200 people: 🚌 in busses (0:31 minutes) 🚋 in trams (0:32 minutes) 🚶 walking (0:38 minutes) 🚲 biking (1:59 minutes) 🚗 driving (4:08 minutes 😱) |

You can either use road space efficiently, or you can have cars. Transporting 200 people: 🚌 in busses (0:31 minutes) 🚋 in trams (0:32 minutes) 🚶 walking (0:38 minutes) 🚲 biking (1:59 minutes) 🚗...

www.facebook.com

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

https://tnmt.com/infographics/carbon-emissions-by-transport-type/

 

[Admiral Beez]

I wish we’d done bike lanes differently from the start, with a mantra to put them in without increasing automobile congestion. That’s what we’re going to end up with anyway. That means some places can’t have them, other places we’d narrow the car lanes or sidewalks and reduce/eliminate on-street parking. It also means eliminating left turns, better sequencing of traffic signals and utilizing other traffic planning tools to move more cars.