July 12, 2021 - The City of Ottawa launched a survey seeking public feedback on the potential use of e-cargo bikes in Ottawa. The City is considering participation in Ontario’s new five-year pilot program to allow e-cargo bikes to be used for the movement of goods and people, both personally and commercially.
This was in response to the Province’s new Bill 282 (Moving Ontarians More Safely Act) which defines e-bikes – power-assisted bicycles – based on the unladen weight of the bicycle. As such, e-bikes that weigh more than 55 kilograms are now considered e-cargo bikes but are not included in the Bill effectively banning them. There were other concerns with the definition of e-bikes in the new Bill but all attempts to amend it were defeated by the majority Conservative government.
The five-year e-cargo bike pilot program, launched by the province at the end of February, requires participating municipalities to implement by-laws to allow e-cargo bikes to operate on their streets.
The use of e-cargo bikes by residents and businesses instead of trucks, vans and cars supports Ottawa’s objectives of encouraging more active and sustainable transportation and goods movement to reduce traffic pressure on City streets and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and is pending Council approval.
Brigitte Pellerin praises e-cargo bikes in her recent opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen, “They’re amazingly clever and versatile and we have to show strong popular support for the idea if we want to encourage councillors to vote the right way.” She encourages residents to fill out the survey and “give e-cargo bikes a massive thumbs up.”
According to Omar Choudhry, Project Lead, Transportation System Management, “The City of Ottawa’s E-Cargo Bike Survey launched on June 25 and will conclude on July 15. Stakeholders have been encouraged to provide input through the City’s social media channels, the project website and ongoing promotion from local elected officials. Staff will review comments received through the on-line consultation and expect to present a draft by-law to Transportation Committee and City Council for approval in September.”
Take the survey by July 15 here.
Read Pellerin’s Opinon piece here.
Ontario’s 5-year eCargo Bike Pilot Program here.
