May 10, 2023 - Toronto city councillor Dianne Saxe is calling for accountability and safety measures for the many e-bike delivery drivers in the city, citing a need to address public safety concerns, but cycling advocates counter that the issue could be handled a better way.
Saxe, an avid cyclist herself, claims to be a victim herself and proposes that delivery drivers should be required to wear unique markings when on the job so they can be easily identified.
But Cycle Toronto claims that the most effective solution to improving road safety is to build streets that are safe by design, not by relying on police enforcement, echoed by cycling advocacy lawyer David Shellnutt. He says the proposal is inefficient questioning how it will be governed to ensure compliance given that there’s an existing driver complaint system in Toronto where dangerous driving complaints, “… go unanswered for months and months and months, if they ever get a response.”
He says that public education campaigns by advocacy groups like Cycle Toronto should be implemented first, along with talking directly to companies like Uber, Skip the Dishes, and Door Dash, before sending police after vulnerable working people.
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