I have nothing against electric mobility. On the contrary, it is the future. But when she thus tumbles, in stealth mode, on our shared tracks, doubt settles. Whenever one of these devices doubles by surprise, I say to myself: What if, at this precise moment, I had taken a step aside? The impact would have been inevitable – and probably violent.
For years, we have been talking about cohabitation on recreational trails. These spaces are popular because they offer a feeling of security to all – pedestrians, cyclists, users of mobility aid. But the massive arrival of fast and silent devices upset the balance.
That day, on the cycle path near the UQO, in Gatineau, I was entitled to a real parade of the future: electric bikes, scooters, scooters resembling motorcycles … The whole new generation of electric devices was embarked on the old metal bridge that leads to Ottawa. A silent, fast, sometimes a little chaotic ballet.
Good luck
The rules exist, of course. But good luck to find you there. I had to dive into the meanders of the Saaq site to see clearly. Each type of vehicle has its own rules: minimum age, maximum speed, permit, compulsory helmet … and the regulations change from one territory to another. In Gatineau and Ottawa, an electric scooter is allowed on municipal trails, but prohibited on those of the Commission of the National Capital. Same machine, same user, but in the blink of an eye, we go from the permit to the illegal.
Good luck to unravel the authorized speeds. For scooters, it’s 25 km/h. Electric assistance bikes must be fitted with a device that blocks the engine at 32 km/h. Rolling faster is allowed, but the sole strength of the calves. On recreational tracks, it’s 20 km/h at all times. But there is no panel, little control. In 2024 and 2025, the Gatineau police issued only 45 observations related to assisted bikes. Half for the absence of a helmet, zero for speeding.
The result is a feeling of impunity and confusion.
These days, I always see the same guy spinning in an electric scooter on the boulevard du Plateau, near my home. I first hear a discreet rustling – the tires bite asphalt. The next moment, he arises, straight on his mount, the two hands tense on the handlebars … Without a helmet of course. It drives thoroughly, as fast as cars. Each time, I want to shout him: ehwait, I have questions! But it is already far away, a silhouette swallowed by the boulevard, taking my doubts with him.
Sometimes we are close to surrealism. Near my home, a guy tinkered a bike with a mower engine. Illegal, of course, but who cares? The sparkling machine like an old tractor, spitting a bluish cloud that hits the neighborhood. Misery…
I don’t want to demonize micromobility. It is essential. But it is time to better supervise its use. Our streets are wide enough for everyone. You just have to learn to share them better.
Several solutions exist, explains Émilie Rachiele-Tremblay, co-director of Mobi-O. For example, physically separate the tracks to limit the clashes between pedestrians, cyclists and other users. But it is expensive, and it will not be for tomorrow.
There is also repression. The city of Gatineau plans to regulate to prohibit speeding or any dangerous behavior on the tracks. Advisor Catherine Craig-St-Louis, who chairs the Transport and Sustainable Mobility Committee, thinks that such a regulation would help the police in their interventions.
And then there is the base: courtesy. A bell. A nice little word to prevent the pedestrian that we will exceed. Ms. Craig-St-Louis does. Me too, even by jogging. It changes everything.
Moreover, if all the electric cyclists who have passed me the other day had slowed down and reported their presence, I would probably not be writing this chronicle today.
