Improper e-Scooter Parking Causing Accessibility Issues in Kelowna
May 5, 2021 Greg Thomson
E-scooters parked in the middle of walkways can limit accessibility for people with disabilities Michael Rodriguez/
May. 4, 2021
While the City of Kelowna is touting e-scooters as a viable new way to get around town, they are posing new obstacles for some residents with disabilities.
Under a three-year provincial pilot program, Kelowna residents and tourists are now allowed to use the city’s road and shared-pathway networks to scoot around on shared or privately-owned electric scooters.
For Spring Hawes, who lives with tetraplegia and uses a wheelchair to get around, the scooter sharing programs are presenting an issue –
specifically regarding parking. She says for herself and other Kelowna residents with disabilities, improperly parked e-scooters can limit already restricted means of transportation.
Since the launch of e-scooter sharing programs in Kelowna in mid-April, several people, including Hawes, have taken to social media to show photos of scooters parked in the middle of narrow walkways in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for some people to get around them.
“I’ve seen many times where they’re just left in the middle of the sidewalk and they’re literally completely blocking the sidewalk,” said Hawes.
“That’s a [...]