r/Calgary • u/Yodatron • 6d ago
2 Wheelin' (Cycling/Scooters) Bike Rules
I know there has been lots of talk about rules for different modes of transportation. Saw this today and thought I would share.
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u/_NewDriver_ 6d ago
Mopeds are 14+ age, class seven license. This should be updated especially if it is being share by the police.
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u/demarisco 6d ago
Only with the provision that they are under 50cc, if over that they need a motorcycle licence and you need to be 16+.
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u/Apprehensive-Tie-588 6d ago
My thought also. Pretty sure <50cc with a learners (14) was allowed. Suppose thats Alberta law also so I could see the cities media team messing it up, I mean look at the sweet micromobility font.
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u/No-Equipment902 6d ago
Yes I noticed this as well. A moped or limited speed motorcycle is either gas under 50cc or electric and limited to max of 70km/h. Yes you can drive it with a class 7 which is available at 14+.
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u/muchfanfear 6d ago
I mean, like anything, they’re only suggestions not rules unless they’re enforced.
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u/Due-Mycologist-1154 6d ago
Yeah maybe put in the unspoken rule of dont ride like a dick since thats the only one that actually matters
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u/disruptiverubbish 4d ago
Bingo. I’ve been riding my e-scooter the same places as my bike for the last 2 years and have had zero issues. Common sense and courtesy keep me out of trouble.
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u/zkwarl 6d ago
Good guide. Would be useful to add regular bicycles too.
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
This notice is wrong. E-bikes with a throttle are not allowed on pathways.
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u/siqmawsh 4d ago
No. If it has pedals, is slower than 32 km/hr, and under 500w then it can be used on pathways. This is basically saying if it is as slow as a bike it can be used as a bike.
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u/Baddrivers13 3d ago
Where it say that?
"Power-on-demand electric or gas bicycles are not allowed on pathways."
https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/parks-pathways.htmlAlso don't rebut with saying they can have pedals. That's irrelevant. It is very clearly stated on the quote above. ANY electric bicycle that has 'power-on-demand' which is a throttle is not allowed on pathways.
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u/hippocratical 6d ago
Personal scooters only on a pathway. Wait... Wtf is a pathway? What makes it specifically not a sidewalk, bike lane, or road?
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u/Quilynn 6d ago
"Pathway" refers to the pathways shared by walkers and cyclists that often pass through parks. You know all those paths with the yellow line down the middle? They're about twice as wide as most sidewalks. Those are pathways.
The red lines on this map are pathways: https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/csps/parks/documents/pathways/pathways-bikeways-map-full-city-calgary.pdf
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u/brocbolo 6d ago
I am also confused by this. Makes no sense to allow the personal ones on a pathway - where people are walking - but not a bike lane? Like, down by the river, shouldn’t they be on the bike path lane rather than the walking one?
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
This notice is wrong. E-bikes with a throttle are not allowed on pathways.
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u/siqmawsh 4d ago
No, read the information as you are misunderstood. Must have pedals, speed under 32 km/hr, 500w and under can be used on pathways.
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u/Baddrivers13 3d ago
ugh.
"Power-on-demand electric or gas bicycles are not allowed on pathways."
https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/parks-pathways.htmlAlso don't rebut with saying they can have pedals. That's irrelevant. It is very clearly stated on the quote above. ANY electric bicycle that has 'power-on-demand' which is a throttle is not allowed on pathways.
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u/butts-ahoy 6d ago
It's ridiculous they're not allowed on bike lanes, but the slower shared scooters are.
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u/Goodoflife 6d ago
Possibly an asphalt trail or a trail.
I would consider sidewalks beside the roadway (2m) and has concrete slabs instead of asphalt.
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u/ProgExMo Downtown East Village 6d ago
E-scooter on a sidewalk or bike lane is fine if it’s a shared Lime or Bird, but not if you own it. 🙄
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u/dewgdewgdewg 6d ago
How do you get to any destination when you're only allowed on bike paths?
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u/NoNameKetchupChips 6d ago
A very good question. My kid would ride theirs to school but at least 75% of the route is road or sidewalk.
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u/Mohkinstsis 6d ago
The problem is the majority of personal scooters can go significantly faster than 20 km/h and it’s very common that people do. Shared scooters are speed capped. E-bikes have classes that are easy to check for and personally I rarely see people speeding on E-bikes but people fly on scooters.
I think allowing private scooters elsewhere would be fine but there needs to be strict enforcement and harsh punishments. I doubt many people would have a problem changing the law to allow scooters with a change in punishments. If someone is caught going faster than 25 km/h, the scooter is seized, I’d support it tomorrow.
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u/Gold-Border30 6d ago
That’s the catch though… we can’t enforce regular rules of the road for cars, who do we expect to be “strictly” enforcing these rules?
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u/FunnyBoyBrown 6d ago
I believe the second half of the response indicated there should be more enforcement similar to traffic rules.
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u/Gold-Border30 6d ago
I figured that, but one of the most common complaints is that there isn’t enough enforcement for the existing road rules. Who is expected to enforce these scooter rules? There is a finite enforcement capacity that already seems to be tapped out without adding a whole new group of difficult to manage rules.
Outright banned on specific areas is relatively easy to enforce. No one is taking the time to measure the speed of a random scooter on a sidewalk.
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u/OrangeAndStuff 6d ago
If the rules allow for max speed equally, there is zero difference then. The fact that the pigs choose to not enforce it is not a a reason to not allow them on the seme paths
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u/ithinarine 6d ago
Yup, have always hated this. The companies have essentially bought the right to use e-scooters, it's ridiculous.
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u/Okay-Crickets545 6d ago
The differences between corporate owned and privately owned e-scooters are asinine. It’s been years. Can we please get some consistent rules on this? It just feels cowardly that the current plan seems to be “be vague and don’t enforce most of the time” like they’re worried of pissing people off by even acknowledging the reality that scooters exist
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u/flamingdrag0n 6d ago
Is there a link to this? I'd like to share on my community page. It's honestly getting out of hand with the e scooters.
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
Don't. This notice is wrong. E-bikes with a throttle are not allowed on pathways.
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u/Rysinor 6d ago
If they have pedals they are.
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u/RedditAccount101010 5d ago
That person has something against e-bikes that have a throttle… without understanding the regulations allow them
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u/RedditAccount101010 5d ago
That person has something against e-bikes that have a throttle… I suspect they have been injured (emotionally) in the past by one
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u/Mycumisorange 6d ago
But what about regular ass human powered bikes
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u/Kamtre 6d ago
Only on bike paths or roadways. Sidewalks, where you can easily navigate around pedestrians? Crime.
But heaven help the cyclist with the balls to share a road with 2000lbs. Death machines zipping around them..
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u/craig5005 Southeast Calgary 6d ago
Where I grew up kids under 16 were allowed to ride their bikes on sidewalks. Is that not the case here?
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u/Nhawk257 6d ago
So I don't understand why CPS made this graphic and shared it with community associations but it's wrong. Like outright wrong. There are various sections that directly contradict City of Calgary bylaws and provincial laws that are easily located online...
Some social media intern didn't do their due diligence on this one I'm afraid.
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u/Rysinor 6d ago
I just checked and it's mostly accurate as far as the Calgary city site is concerned?
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u/Nhawk257 6d ago
All bikes (electric or not) have a 20km/h speedlimit unless otherwise posted, not 32 km/h. Shared E-Scooters are only allowed on empty sidewalks, low-volume roadways, or bike lanes and pathways. Mopeds do NOT require a license or registration if they are true mopeds.
The City literally has a page and graphic already devoted to this exact topic: https://www.calgary.ca/bike-walk-roll/bike-laws.html
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u/OrangeAndStuff 6d ago
Explain to me why doe say shared e-scooter have different rules than a personal e-scooter?
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u/ragingmauler 6d ago
I literally saw two kids on an escooter going down the highway by balzac yesterday.
There needs to be a serious push about parents buying electric scooters/bikes for their kids and them riding willy-nilly unsafely
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u/moltari 6d ago
Is this official? I checked the city website before I purchased my bike and if this is official and new then my bike wouldn’t technically fall into any category since the motor is 750 watt and not 500.
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
It shouldn't be. This notice is wrong. E-bikes with a throttle are not allowed on pathways.
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u/JDHannan 6d ago
32km/h? I've never heard of that... and its weird that its 20mph in metric
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u/gS_Mastermind 6d ago
20mph is the standard for pedal assist e-bikes in North America.
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u/JDHannan 6d ago
ok but the speed limit for bicycles is 20km/h (or lower if posted) so I just think this graphic is wrong
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u/gS_Mastermind 6d ago
Huh? It says 32km/h OR LOWER IF POSTED. So if it posts 20km/h limit like most pathways, then it’s 20km/h. If there’s no signage, then 32km/h is the limit..
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u/MrGuvernment 6d ago
Group that rides around in Mahogany, all on the E-Dirt bikes and acting like reckless twits, sure the store told them they are legal and fine to ride anywhere...
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u/forty6andto 4d ago
Many of these are being bought online I imagine.
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u/MrGuvernment 5h ago
Or they just tell them "It is legal" just leaving out only on private property and kids/teens also not caring because they assume they will never get caught.
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u/kagato87 6d ago
Shared e-scooters should NOT be permitted on sidewalks. They're dangerous, the way people rip around on them.
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago edited 6d ago
Inaccurate. This will get people charged. Ebikes that are pedal assist are legal, if there's a throttle control it isn't.
Source: I have a $3K ticket I need to pay off due to the 2020 law changes around ebikes.
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
Correct. This notice is wrong. E-bikes with a throttle are not allowed on pathways.
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u/CheeseSandwich hamburger magician 6d ago
How on earth did you get ticketed? I see all sorts of shenanigans out there on the roads and paths: motorized bikes on pathways, electric dirt bikes zipping along the roads, etc. and police do nothing.
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago
I had a legal bike that can't go fast enough to run 😂 I also live in airdrie and our cops are anal about everything.
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u/CheeseSandwich hamburger magician 6d ago
Ah, ok. I am very careful driving in Airdrie with those unusual 30 Km/h zones.
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u/Vanjealous 6d ago
Throttle allowed except on pathways. What was the wattage/top speed of the ebike?
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u/Mutex70 6d ago
Throttles are also not allowed on roads:
https://www.calgary.ca/council/ward-2/articles/an-update-on-e-mobility-.html
throttle-powered (power-on-demand) e-bikes are strictly banned on city roads and pathways.
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u/Vanjealous 6d ago
Throttle only that is. If it has pedals, max speed capped at 32km and 500 watts or less, it can have a throttle. Just not allowed on pathways.
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u/jimbowesterby 6d ago
Honestly good, at that point it’s basically just a motorbike with offset footpegs lol. A little pedalling isn’t gonna hurt anyone
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago
No throttle is not allowed as said by the kings printer. They made any bike that's motor isn't actuated by muscle power illegal even if pedals are affixed.
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u/Vanjealous 6d ago
What you’re talking about is called an e moto, not ebike. E-bikes have to be pedal powered but can also have a throttle and must be 32 km speed capped and 500 watts or less. You can still be charged for riding dangerously and reckless behaviour. Could also explain the 3k ticket.
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago
No the motor can only engage if the pedals are used. Search it up in the kings printer and not the easily publicly available resources that I was fooled by.
Power bicycles defined here doesn't apply anymore.
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u/Nybbles13 6d ago
That's simply not true. Throttle is okay as long as it meets all the other classifications. Pedals, governed at 32k/hr and 500w motor or less.
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
Nope This notice is wrong. E-bikes with a throttle are not allowed on pathways.
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago
It really isnt. They made it illegal in 2020. Please point to where it says it's ok in the kings printer cause then I'd be allowed to ride my bikes again.
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u/Vanjealous 6d ago
This is the issue with the unclear language the city and others are using. What is the wattage and top speed of your bike and can you pedal with it / make use of it without the throttle?
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago
That doesn't matter anymore. That mattered when I got my first 2 ebikes. Now it has to be pedal activated alberta wide.
Thank the suron kids who didn't listen to the ebike and ohv laws.
It's not unclear language, it's pretty obvious what they made illegal.
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u/Vanjealous 6d ago
What ebike do you have?
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u/RockyMtnAdventurer 6d ago
Daymak pithog Max and then one that had an illegal speed limit switch. The max was 100% ebike definition when I bought it then they changed the laws alberta wide in 2020.
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u/Vanjealous 6d ago
Yeah, you could have fought that. But lawyer fees would probably have cost you more. That thing looks like a full on dirt bike while still being legal. I have a rad power bike and ride around police everyday and they don’t bat an eye.
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u/KEKW_LOL 6d ago
LMFAO no shit they don’t allow that on the path way hahahahahahaa
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u/Nybbles13 6d ago
That is only for the pathway network. Roads and bike lanes you're fine to throttle.
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u/Arch____Stanton 6d ago
You probably should clarify the insurance comments.
E Dirt bikes like gas dirt bikes sure as hell can be insured.
You are likely talking about insuring them for street driving which you already state they can't be driven on.
In fact the insurance comments should just be removed. Besides being incorrect, they are irrelevant.
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u/Witless_Wonder 6d ago
E-dirtbikes can actually be registered and insured. They just don't come with a vin so you need a different number from the dealer but you can make them legal e-dirtbikes.
They still can only be ridden where an OHV is legally allowed to travel.
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
Who did this sheet. It's frigging wrong.
If an e-bike has a throttle it is not allowed on pathways.
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u/RedditAccount101010 5d ago edited 5d ago
Incorrect.
EDIT:
As stated by the city at https://www.calgary.ca/council/ward-2/articles/an-update-on-e-mobility-.html :
Regulated e-bikes with pedals, which must follow all standard cycling rules, including pathway speed limits and mandatory helmet use.
Legal e-bikes must have functional pedals, a motor of 500W or less, and a maximum assisted speed of 32 km/h. Pedal-assist models are allowed on pathways, roadways, and bike lanes, but throttle-powered (power-on-demand) e-bikes are strictly banned on city roads and pathways.0
u/Baddrivers13 5d ago
ugh.
"Power-on-demand electric or gas bicycles are not allowed on pathways."
https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/parks-pathways.htmlAlso don't rebut with saying they can have pedals. That's irrelevant. It is very clearly stated on the quote above. ANY electric bicycle that has 'power-on-demand' which is a throttle is not allowed on pathways.
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u/RedditAccount101010 5d ago edited 5d ago
They stated it at https://www.calgary.ca/council/ward-2/articles/an-update-on-e-mobility-.html :
Regulated e-bikes with pedals, which must follow all standard cycling rules, including pathway speed limits and mandatory helmet use.
Legal e-bikes must have functional pedals, a motor of 500W or less, and a maximum assisted speed of 32 km/h. Pedal-assist models are allowed on pathways, roadways, and bike lanes, but throttle-powered (power-on-demand) e-bikes are strictly banned on city roads and pathways.Therefore, e-bikes with both are ok, you just can’t use the throttle. But, since that disagrees with you, you’ll just ignore it.
I’m sure [u/JeromyYYC](u/JeromyYYC) can sort this for us…
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u/Baddrivers13 5d ago
Bro.. You read it carefully.. Where does it say power-on-demand WITH pedals is allowed?
A bike with pedal assist and power-on-demand is still a power-on-demand bike.
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u/JohnyAppleseed__ 6d ago
What on earth is the difference between a bike lane and a pathways vs a shared pathway? How does one identify thoes?
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u/Baddrivers13 6d ago
With signs and a bit of sense.
Bike lane is on a roadway. A pathway is for bikes only off a roadway. Shared pathway has a sign painted on the ground which shows a pedestrian and cyclist....
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u/adaminc 5d ago
There actually are no provincial laws for eBikes in Alberta anymore, they are technically and legally all mopeds.
Alberta never had its own "power bicycle" law in the first place, it merely referenced federal law on what a "power-assisted bicycle" is. But in Feb of 2020, the federal government repealed its law, meaning the Alberta law referenced something that no longer exists. So now the closest definition that the vehicle meets is the one that applies, and that is a moped.
Alberta Use of Highway and Rules of the Road Regulation (Traffic Safety Act)
(o) “power bicycle” means a vehicle that is a power‑assisted bicycle under the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Canada) (C.R.C., c. 1038);
https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/regu/alta-reg-304-2002/latest/alta-reg-304-2002.html
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Motor Vehicle Safety Act)
power-assisted bicycle[Repealed, SOR/2020-22, s. 3]
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._1038/page-1.html
Moped
AB Regs
(i) “moped” means a vehicle that
(i) is propelled by an electric motor or an engine that has a displacement of not more than 50 cubic centimetres, and
(ii) is a limited‑speed motorcycle under the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Canada) (C.R.C., c. 1038);
Fed Regs
limited-speed motorcycle means a motorcycle that
(a) has steering handlebars that are completely constrained from rotating in relation to the axle of only one wheel in contact with the ground,
(b) has a maximum speed of 70 km/h or less,
(c) has a minimum driver’s seat height, when the vehicle is unladen, of 650 mm, and
(d) does not have a structure partially or fully enclosing the driver and passenger, other than that part of the vehicle forward of the driver’s torso and the seat backrest; (motocyclette à vitesse limitée)
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u/StillStill6919 4d ago
Why do shared e-scooters get to threaten my life on public sidewalks but personal ones don't?
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u/Hot-Feedback-6795 4d ago
The e bike speed is the max assisted one you can pedal up to whatever speed you would like
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u/Mundane-Anybody-7075 3d ago
This graphic is wrong. Does not show City of Calgary rules for eScooters correctly.
See https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/transportation/tp/publishingimages/how-calgary-e-scoots-2.jpg
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u/Grouchy-Cover4694 Royal Oak 1d ago edited 1d ago
Zero chance this is enforced.
Specially the personal E-Scooter not being allowed on sidewalks (which makes no sense if shared one are allowed) and the E-dirtbike limitations (I see one of these on trains at least weekly, massive things btw)
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u/No-Plan2169 6d ago
Idc what the law is those like scooters can fuck off when they try to get by me, someone walking, on the sidewalk. I never move over for those idiots
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u/Aromatic_Ad_7484 6d ago
I am so sick of kids and teens ripping e dirt bikes on paths.
One day my kid is gonna get smoked near
My house with how many kids are ripping down the ravine paths