London City Council notes: E-bikes and crossing guards

When is an e-bike an e-bike?

That question was central to discussions around the introduction of a proposed bylaw amendment that could lead to the exclusion of power-assisted bicycles from the city’s multi-use pathways.

During the Community and Protective Services Committee meeting on Monday (June 17), the members referred back to staff the recommendation of staff that also included lowering the speed limit on pathways from 30 kph to 20 kph. That reduction would allow the Upper Thames Conservation Authority’s ability to act as bylaw enforcement officers within the city’s environmentally significant areas.

In 2009 the province amended the Highway Traffic Act and excluded power-assisted” bicycles — or e-bikes — from the definition of motor vehicle.

Ward 5 Councillor Joni Baechler, Ward 13 Councillor Judy Bryant and Mayor Joe Fontana all agreed that e-bikes should be allowed in the pathways. However, Ward 12 Councillor Harold Usher took the opposite point, raising several issues, including safety of those using the pathways.

Usher’s question, however, raised the point of whether the bylaw was designed to deal with scooter-style e-bikes or more of the power-assisted bicycles. Bill Coxhead, managing director of parks and recreation, said the exclusion was planned for the scooter-style bikes, but that it would welcome the referral to come back with a clearly laid out report.

Crossing guard rules

Also during the meeting, the committee voted to move forward with a single-source arrangement for school crossing guards.

The decision came as the committee discussed the London Police Service plan to stop administering the School Crossing Guard Program. With that decision, the London Police Services Board moved to save the approximately $1 million cost of the program.

The mayor said the safety of kids is “absolutely important” and so the city needs a seamless transition from the police administration to that of the city. To achieve that goal, John Braam, managing director of environmental and engineering services, said the city would work with the existing contractor for a one-year period ending on Aug. 31, 2014.

Committee chair and Ward 11 Councillor Denise Brown reaffirmed the city will undertake the sole source arrangement only for 2013/14 school year before undertaking a review of the program and moving forward with requests for proposal in time for the 2014/15.

Tips on Keeping Your Electric Bike Safe & Secure

Here's another great article by ebike report on how to keep your electric bike safe and secure:

You may have selected a good lock from the electric bike locks article but there are some other electric bike safety techniques that can further help you protect your investment.  By practicing these simple habits you can rest easier knowing your e-bike is that much safer.

Let’s get into the tips!

Park your electric bike in a public place. 

Thieves are less likely to try to steal your bike in a public place.  It is harder for them to break the lock when there are a bunch of people around.  Try not to leave your electric bike locked up somewhere overnight.

Find secure things to lock your e-bike to. 

Here are some ideas:

• Bike parking area that is solidly attached to concrete.
• A tree or street sign or street light.  Make sure your bike can’t be lifted over the tree, sign or light.  Avoid parking meters for this reason!
• A solid fence, not chain link because a thief could easily cut the chain link.
• A hand rail that is solidly attached to a wall or sidewalk.

A note about parking your bike in a high traffic areas;

try to be respectful of where you park your bike.  Some areas may not work because it will cause to much congestion where people are walking by.  This can be especially true if you are locking up multiple bikes.

Lock your helmet to your bike. 

If you are in a high theft area you may want to route your bike cable through the vents in your helmet.  Routing the cable through the helmet straps also works and I personally have never had a helmet stolen.  In reality I am not sure how many people really want a used helmet 

How do you carry your lock and accessories? 

Some locks come with attachments that allow you to carry the lock on the frame of the bike.  You may find it convenient to use a messenger bag, back pack or bag that fits on a bike rack to carry your lock and accessories (lights, display, jacket, pump, tools, keys, wallet, etc.)

A strong bike lock at work and a lighter lock for errands. 

A good rule of thumb is to use a strong lock when you are leaving your bike somewhere for extended periods of time (at work) and a lighter duty lock for short periods of time (errands).  Imagine how much time it would take a thief to break your lock and you can see why a light duty lock can work for errands.  You could keep your heavy duty lock at work all the time and carry the light duty with you.

When at home keep your bike out of site. 

Keep your bike in your garage, shed, inside your house, under a tarp, etc.  Thieves will spend time scoping out a neighborhood before they make their move.  Don’t let them see your e-bike!

Register your bike with one or all of these organizations.

Bike Shepard: Register your bike and get a badge that is attached to your bike with a QR code for scanning with a smartphone.

International Bike Registry.

National Bike Registry

Stolen Bicycle Registry: For when your e-bike is stolen 

Check out the next article for some tips on how to recover a stolen electric bike.

Do you have any questions about these tips?  Do you have any tips to add?  Please leave your comments and questions below.

- See more

Safety Tips for ebike Riders

One of the most important things about electric bikes is often times neglected, that is your safety. As e-Bann we’d like to warn and inform everyone who owns an ebike or planning to get an ebike with the following safety tips:

• Riders AgeWe strongly recommend our riders to be at least 16 years old. Many countries and states have this law but sadly as us manufacturers work on the design to make these vehicles look more like regular bicycles, it is difficult for law enforcers to make differ an ebike from a regular bicycle.
  
• Rules
  Don’t forget that you’re subject to the same rights and duties as the driver of a motor vehicle, such as obeying all traffic lights and control devices
  
  
  
  
  
• Speed LimitsPlease do not forget that speed limits are determined by your government for a reason. Please do not try alter the speed limits set by your manufacturer. Don’t forget that no matter how careful you ride your ebike, that car passing you might not be as careful as you are…
  
• Lights:
  At night time please turn on your headlights and tail lights (if your ebike is equipped with one). Turning on your lights may not increase your vision a lot, but it helps you to be visible on the road. We as e-Bannespecially made light sensors a standard in all of our models. Even if you forget to turn on your lights, your e-Bann will turn headlight, taillight and screen backlight will turn on automatically when necessary.
  
• Helmet:
  
  
  We cannot express this enough. Even tho wearing a helmet is now forced by law in your country/state, please get one and actually use it. We strongly recommend all of our dealers to sell helmets to their clients with ebikes.
  We learned it the hard way. Ok, helmet might mess up your hair, but you should decide in between messy hair or a messed up life…
  There are lots of nice and fashionable helmet models available in the market. If you need any recommendations, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’d be more than happy to assist you.
  
• Car Doors:
  Be prepared for anything while cycling. Watch out for the unexpected, like sudden opening of car doors. We are not kidding, it happens more often than you think.
  
• Bicycle Clips:
  If you’re planning to pedal your ebike, use bicycle clips if you are wearing loose fitting trousers. It is important to keep loose fitting clothes away from the bicycle chain at all times. If your cloth gets stuck in the moving part you could easily end up in an accident.
  
• Always Rear Brakes First:
  Do not apply front breaks first as this will cause you to topple. It is always better to apply the rear brakes first. Once your bicycle has slowed down considerable you can apply the front brakes.
  
• Last Note:
  ENJOY YOUR RIDE!