E-scooter proposal approved

Penticton is set to roll into the age of grab-and-go electric scooter and bike rentals that are now common in larger cities.

City council on Tuesday voted 5-2 in favour of adopting new provincial legislation that permits e-scooters and e-bikes on streets, plus issuing a request for proposals from rental companies looking to set up shop in public spaces in Penticton.

The program would be based on those in operation elsewhere, including Vernon and Kelowna, where customers can pick up an electric bike or scooter from a designated rack, ride away on it, then drop it when they’re done.

“Not to suggest we would copy their programs, because they have had a number of challenges with them – such as not having defined docking locations, which results in scooters being littered throughout the community – but just a sample because they’re out there,” said Kristen

Dixon, the city’s general manger of infrastructure, in her report to council.

She also noted Penticton can add more stringent rules, potentially governing where the equipment can operate and at what speeds.

Provincial legislation that allowed e-scooters on streets was passed in 2021 and intended as a three-year pilot project, but has since been extended into 2028. It requires riders to wear helmets and limits equipment speeds to 25 km/h.

While the legislation bans riders from using sidewalks, it permits them on multi-use pathways such as those along Okanagan and Skaha lakes.

Coun. Helena Konanz, who with James Miller, cast one of the opposing votes, suggested those waterfront pathways should be ruled off-limits to e-scooters and e-bikes during the summer.

“There’s a lot of responsible people,” said Konanz, “but there are a lot that are just going way too fast.”