Canadian Urbanism Uncovered
Read more articles by Shawn Micallef
E-bikes, those infantilizing-human-dignity-removal-machines, are breeding like electric bunnies. So much so that last Saturday you could not walk down Spadina south of College without hitting one.
Hey, girl, it’s electric, pedaling is for suckers.
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15 comments
They sound like plastic lunchboxes when they go over curbs. And they’re all green or pink.
You realize that this picture was taken in front of the store that sells e-bikes and that they were there because they’re for sale?
I sure do, David. You can see the sign in the picture.
E-bike or not, for sale or not, it’s not cool to be taking up the whole sidewalk with your inventory or customers’ parking.
not a fan of these less-than-interesting instaflaneur posts….
….just sayin’
Nick> You read Spacing for the articles, not the pictures, too, huh? C’est beau.
I don’t have a problem with e-bikes on the streets. They pollute less than cars and I doubt that they are taking many people off of regular bicycles. I would like them to stay off the sidewalks and the park paths – which I think that is what the law in Toronto – and I’d like them to keep there distance when following me on the street since given their weight they don’t stop as fast as bikes.
This is for David (first commenter): The scene Shawn has captured is breaking all types of bylaws regarding sidewalk access and what a retail store can and cannot do. What you see is what no store should ever be doing.
The irony, of course, is that while these e-bikes promote sustainability, they are blocking the most sustainable form of transportation. And the way e-bikes made their way onto our streets was to help give greater mobility to people with accessibility problems, yet they are making that sidewalk hostile to anyone with an assisted mobility device (at least that’s how they were pitched to the Ontario government when they allowed them to be classified no differently than a regular, human-powered bike).
I’ve yet to encounter an e-biker that wasn’t a complete menace.
They make cyclists look like angels. And that’s saying a lot.
They can’t use their motors on bike trails or in bike lanes. Not that most of their riders actually know this.
That’s just CRAZY! The street was literally crammed with e-bikes! (directly in front of the e-bike dealership). You could not walk down Spadina south of College without hitting one!! (unless you avoided the e-bike dealership)
Simply AMAZING!!!
It’s sad how Spacing is so divisive. Was this one fuelled by egotism or is just a misguided editorial policy?
Fueled by E-Bikes, Patrick.
Really, Shawn? Looks a lot like TO ‘presbyterianism’. You know, “Toronto the good”, kind of stuff. When I first came to the city there were guys like you exposing illegal patios and newspaper boxes etc. Ah well, if you don’t make it as a big-shot media guy with unique insight to urbanism, design and planning, I’m sure Rob Ford will get you a job as a bylaw officer. There’s a lot of illegal graffiti and panhandling going on.
Sounds like somebody is a grumpy ebike rider? Hehe.