The tires were spinning at Tiny Township committee of the whole as a potential bylaw amendment to allow certain e-bikes on the Tiny Trail system gained some traction with council members.
From a recommendation by the parks and recreation advisory committee, e-bikes up to 32 kilometres per hour were requested to be included into the Tiny Trail bylaw regulations for allowable activity.
Members of council were wary on the topic with concerns on 32 kilometres per hour as a top speed.
Public works director Tim Leitch explained that the proposed amendment would remove two of the four e-bike classes from the trail, leaving Class 1 and 2 power-assisted bicycles, or e-bikes.
“What this gets rid of is the scooters and those types of bikes, and that’s what we’re really concerned about on the trails,” said Leitch, citing the Vespa brand as an example. “32 kilometres per hour; that sounds fast but when you go down the trails people are riding on their bikes faster than 32 kilometres per hour.”
The primary reason Leitch initiated the conversation, he said, was due to an interaction he’d had with visiting seniors over the summer who were travelling from Wasaga Beach to Penetanguishene for lunch by using e-bikes.
“It struck me at that moment, I thought this is really what’s going to get our seniors active, get them out,” said Leitch, who jokingly admitted he had difficulty pedalling to the top of Concession 9 under his own power. “We have such a large seniors population in Tiny, and this is what’s going to get our seniors out.”
Further questions involved liability risks and definitions of e-bikes.
From his perspective on the parks and recreation committee, Coun. Dave Brunelle explained that the reason the committee waited nearly a year before bringing the recommendation to council was due to waiting on the province for that definition; the group finally decided instead to simply lift wording from the provincial website regarding riding an e-bike.
Leitch added that council approval would allow the parks and recreation committee to look at everything and report back early in the new year.
Mayor Dave Evans stated he was in favour of the recommendation, agreeing with increased mobility for Tiny residents around the township. In his comments, Evans made reference to Midland Mayor Bill Gordon utilizing an e-bike during the recent Terry Fox Run, as well as the speed of snowmobiles on the trail exceeding 32 kilometres at times.
On the visitors from Wasaga Beach, Evans said: “I think that’s incredibly liberating, and why wouldn’t we try to find a way for people to do that, (to) get outside and get fresh air? I think that far outweighs the safety concerns; those can be updated and monitored on an ongoing basis.”
Given the thorough discussion, a unanimous vote was given to have staff investigate further and report back at a future meeting.
The Tiny Trails e-bike provisions bylaw amendment recommendation can be viewed on the agenda page on the Township of Tiny website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on the township’s YouTube channel.
