BANFF – A Banff town councillor wants the municipality to roll out regulations on e-bike speeds on the town’s multi-use trails.
Councillor Ted Christensen said he hears numerous complaints of electrical assisted bikes, or e-bikes, whizzing by people on trails and wants to consider a speed limit to make it safer for people walking on the trails.
“I’d like to see how we can regulate e-bike use regarding speed limits on our trails,” he said.
“I think in order to maintain an active community and a safe community we need to investigate this.”
On a 4-2 vote, the governance and finance committee directed administration to draft a report on regulating non-motorized vehicle speed on trails and to consider options to address any issues.
In Canada, an electric bicycle must not be more powerful than 500 watts and have a top speed capacity of 32 km/h.
Transport Canada’s designation is that such bicycles do not count as motorized.
In Alberta, an e-bike rider does not need a driver’s licence, vehicle insurance, or registration. However, e-bike riders must be at least 12 years old.
Stan Andronyk, the manager of the municipal enforcement department, said small signs are posted in some locations indicating a maximum speed of 5 km/h, but he said they are not very visible and nor are they enforceable.
“They would not be considered a regulatory sign, and a number of us didn’t know about them until we had a conversation this summer,” he said, pointing to a small sign on a garbage bin on Bow Avenue by the canoe docks.
“A number of people have not seen them … and 5-km/h that would be more of recommendation. I don’t think you can enforce that.”
Mayor Corrie DiManno and Coun. Barb Pelham were opposed to pursuing the matter any further.
“I am not going to be supportive of this. This is a common sense situation and we can’t signage our way out of common sense situations,” said the mayor.
“We have bylaw officers and when they’re doing proactive enforcement they are looking for this type of thing and we’ve heard there have not been complaints formally made.”
Coun. Chip Olver, however, did support Christensen’s move, saying she has also experienced cyclists going by at fast speeds on the shared trail network.
“As we get more and more e-bikes and keep increasing our active modes of transportation, we get more users on the trail,” she said.
“We can argue maybe we don’t have a problem now because we haven’t had a lot of action requests, but I think we’re going to see increasing multiple use on these trails and have the potential for conflict.”
The Town of Banff offers residents a rebate of up to $750 on the purchase of an e-bike under $5,000.
The program, which is funded by visitor pay parking revenues, led to the purchase of 117 e-bikes in 2022. The first round of rebates was fully subscribed within 15 days and the second round in five days. The total value of rebates issued was $79,110.
In addition, the municipality has been expanding a system of connected routes and trails, with programs to make walking and cycling safe, easy to navigate, and the preferable alternative to motor vehicle travel.
