Wild horses might not have been able to drag Gino Vannelli away from his girl, but a painting of one wasn’t enough for one Scarborough e-bike rider to keep him from a bunch of fine from Toronto Police Service for his careless driving.
TPS traffic enforcement officer PC Papadopoulos put up a post on social media yesterday after he fined the driver of an e-bike for driving down the sidewalk while carrying a very wide painting of said horses.
“A pedestrian jumps onto the lawn to avoid being struck by an E-Bike,” he posted. “The E-bike took up the whole sidewalk. The driver was charged with a few Ebike offences. Please Ride Safe.”
Thus began a very entertaining Twitter session with most comments directed at wild e-bike menaces and the ironic nature of the situation.
Way too much “horse power” for the sidewalks ^bb
— DRPS Traffic Services (@DRPSRoadSafety) April 20, 2023
According to the city of Toronto rules, no bicycles, electric or otherwise, are allowed to be ridden on sidewalks, although some commenters suggest that if the road is too busy and dangerous, they do so anyway to keep safe and just pull over for pedestrians. Whereas, power-assisted e-bikes are not allowed on sidewalks, in cycle tracks or on multi-use trails and paths
I ride my e-bike on the sidewalk when the traffic is crazy. I I see another person coming towards me, I pull over to the right side and let them walk past me before I move again.
— Gail Morgan-Smith (@GailMorganSmit2) April 20, 2023
“If a motorized vehicle is used on a park path, the rider/driver may be fined $305.00 by bylaw enforcement officers,” reads the city website. “The Waterfront Multi-use path, Don Valley and Humber Multi-use paths, are all considered parklands. The West Toronto Railpath and Hydro corridor trails are considered linear parks.”
500 dollars for smuggling Wild horses.
— Jake Reardon (@JakenBear) April 20, 2023
Holy jumpin pedestrians! That is crazy! Nice picture though! But that is a VERY unsafe way to transport stuff that size, even for the driver. WOWZA!
— LindaShar703 (@linshar703) April 21, 2023
Although it is hard to tell from the photo, some e-bikes that look like small motorcycles still have pedalling ability so they skirt the rules, even if they never use the pedals. This allows, for instance, food delivery e-bikes to use bike lanes and park trails. But, they are never allowed on sidewalks, electric, motor or just plain old pedal-powered.
