Strathmore eScooter discussion continues

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore Town Council is continuing discussions regarding the potential introduction of eScooters around town for public use and local transportation.

During the May 17 regular meeting of council, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Kevin Scoble presented a request to council that resolution 104.05.23 be rescinded, and that administration be directed to prepare a report on private sector provision of eScooters and eBikes in Strathmore for council by Sept. 20, 2023.

“We have had some preliminary discussions with communities that do have eScooters, and a couple of the things they indicated is that the vendors are now bringing eBikes to the market as well, so it would seem most efficient to look at that and be current or perhaps a little ahead of the game if there is a new offering of that mode of transportation,” he said. “As well, we have heard some lessons learned from other communities that may give us ways to, with this motion as written, allow us to take some learnings from other communities that maybe were not original options when eScooters started coming into use.”

Resolution 104.05.23 was a resolution carried at the May 3 regular meeting of council, which stated administration was to prepare a report on the Bird eScooter system for council and that an appropriate timeline within the next quarter to bring the report back to council be determined. 

The new direction, brought forward by Scoble, was suggested so that administration could provide additional clarity regarding when the report will be brought back to council. 

Bird Canada attended the May 3 regular meeting of council as a delegation to present their eScooter service. In order to provide the service, Bird Canada requested Strathmore sign an agreement giving them permission to use the roads and pathways in town. 

Scoble added though the idea appears plausible for Strathmore, it is early in the process of introducing an eScooter service to commit to a specific vendor.

“We do want to make sure that we are following public procurement requirements, so we do not want to infer directly or indirectly any particular affiliation with any particular vendor at this time to make sure that we are respecting those procurement requirements,” he said.

Coun. Denise Peterson moved to accept the report from administration and provide the requested direction to prepare a report for review in September.

“I am very much in favour of this,” she said. “I think that the timing really has not changed and I understand that it will be a work in progress, that when administration brings this back, it might not be all the information that we would eventually get, but it will be a beginning to address the process.”

The motion was carried without further debate or discussion and without objection.