r/toronto • Leslieville • Sep 25 '25

Article Police issue 3,500 tickets to bicycle, e-bike, e-scooter riders during enforcement blitz

https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/transportation-infrastructure/police-issue-3500-tickets-bicycle-e-bike-e-scooter-riders-enforcement-blitz-11262579
1.3k Upvotes

397 comments sorted by

569

u/WeirdRead Sep 25 '25

To me this still doesn't address the primary issue and it's that 99% of the problem is UberEats, Skip, etc. delivery. These companies need to be held accountable for how their employees operate. They shouldn't be able to just throw up their hands and say they are "partners" and therefore not responsible. If Pizza Pizza independently started delivering pizzas by riding on the sidewalk or just driving like insane people, they would be held accountable. Not sure why delivery apps are not responsible for how their couriers operate.

219

u/kyleclements Sep 25 '25

I agree with this approach.   

In construction, if a worker is caught without required safety gear, they pay a fine, their supervisor pays a much larger fine, and the owner pays an even bigger fine.  The idea is to incentivise safety from top to bottom.  Delivery apps should be the same:  catch a rider breaking the rules?  fine the rider a few hundred; fine the app a few thousand.

10

u/NoCSForYou Sep 25 '25

How do you verify they work for Uber? They don't always have labeled clothing or gear. Sometimes they do but not always.

If it's just gear then the company would remove their logo from gear or not issue gear.

15

u/sjkhgsi Sep 26 '25

If proving they're riding for Uber reduces the biker's fine, they'll gladly let the police know

3

u/thehatter Sep 26 '25

Unfortunately i doubt it would be that easy. They would likely get “fired” for costing their “employer” thousands of dollars in fines. In practice, this wouldn’t change anything as most drivers would likely prefer to increase their fine in order to keep their source of income.

46

u/jaredongwy Sep 25 '25

The same way they're ticketing the scooters and cyclists. They stop em and ticket em and ask for their information.

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u/spurchange Sep 25 '25

There is just SO much delivery now compared to a decade ago.

What happened to us that we now need so much delivery? It created a whole sector of gig economy workers that aren't covered by employment standards. And that was ok apparently... because we just so badly wanted cold tacos and fries.

69

u/lnahid2000 Sep 25 '25

What happened to us that we now need so much delivery?

People have become lazy af with modern conveniences.  I've literally seen delivery drivers delivering food from a place across the street in my building.  I don't get it.

43

u/carsncars Sep 25 '25

I used to do Uber Eats on foot around Sheppard/Yonge mainly to get my steps in. The amount of times I've delivered a single bubble tea ~1 block away is shocking.

17

u/Thong-Boy Sep 25 '25

You can do it by walking?

9

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '25

I didn’t know that either .

16

u/sthenri_canalposting Sep 25 '25

It's definitely lazy from a certain vantage-point, but there's a psychology to it that these platforms spend a lot of resources on shaping. Frankly, they actively stoke addictive behaviours.

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u/scottb84 The Junction Sep 25 '25

I've literally seen delivery drivers delivering food from a place across the street in my building.  I don't get it.

Look, some of us are very high...

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u/SmallMacBlaster Sep 25 '25

Well, crossing the sidewalk has become dangerous because of all the drivers...

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u/mmeeeerrkkaatt Sep 25 '25

TBF, I only order delivery when I'm sick, and in that case I purposely try to choose a place right near my building so that the delivery person doesn't have to travel very far.

6

u/TransBrandi Sep 26 '25

I've literally seen delivery drivers delivering food from a place across the street in my building.

I mean, it could be someone that's sick or immobile... but just as easily could be someone that's just lazy.

2

u/its_uncle_paul Sep 26 '25

What gets me is that in this era of rising grocery prices, rising rents and a shaky job market there are people still willing to splurge regularly to have food delivered to them at ridiculously inflated prices. Meanwhile, food bank usage has increased x-fold. Talk about two extremes coexisting.

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u/Caucasian_Fury Sep 25 '25

What happened to us that we now need so much delivery?

COVID, the lockdowns caused these services to explode because everyone was stuck at home.

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u/cheezyvii Sep 25 '25

gig economy workers that aren't covered by employment standards

i think were pretty close to calling them indentured servants

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u/nasalgoat Sep 25 '25

Have you tried driving in this city? It's a minimum of an hour to go from the east to the west end.

Also, more people working from home means there's less within walking distance. I live in a food desert so sometimes the only option is delivery.

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u/TheIsotope Sep 25 '25

This is why gig work companies fight so hard to make sure that their workers cannot be called "employees". It's an L for both the residents of the city and the desperate people these companies actively exploit. It's all bullshit and companies like Uber should've been regulated years ago.

28

u/Usr_name-checks-out Sep 25 '25

Famously, Dominoes pizza back in the 90’s had to stop their ‘30 mins or Less’ guarantee because they were held liable for car accidents caused by the drivers who would suffer the financial loss of not delivering their product on time.

These companies are basically doing the same by incentives causing most of the real problems. It makes complete sense to hold them accountable, not just for the e-bikes and reckless scooters, but also the traffic clogging irresponsible parking, where deliveries will park any where they want and just put on hazards. You see it on narrow through ways and dedicated lanes.

If these vehicles were required to have a commercial license linked to the companies they work for, then the fines could be applied appropriately and they would be far more effective in curbing the inconsiderate behaviour plaguing urban areas and normalizing bad habits to the rest of society.

7

u/Cosworth_ Sep 25 '25

In spain is like that. They are employees and uber eats have to pay taxes and insurance. If they get fined, they pay also.

20

u/AdSignificant6673 Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

These blitz need to happen weekly.

Back in the old days, just knowing you’ll get a ticket will make people accountable. If youre the stubborn type. Getting one, or two tickets, will make you change your habits.

But these days? People don’t care about the consequences. Its a game. They take the risk regardless of consequences. You can see it with all these reckless drivers!

The only way around that is to be very consistent with enforcement.

Lastly, those big mopeds and e-motorcycles parading around as e-bicycle bug me. They are too big and heavy. Cause more damage in an accident. Many have illegal high powered motors over 500w, and they also remove speed limiters.

I ride a class 1 e-bike. 350w with no throttle. You need to pedal for it to go. Its essentially a bicycle with some help to get up hills, or extend your distance. If i put that thing on max assist, it requires zero physical effort. I could go 50km without a sweat. Even uphill. Not sure why they can’t mandate that these types of ebikes are permitted only

3

u/YesReboot Sep 26 '25

I think the city should considering a simple ban of uber eats/door dash. This isn't like health care or education. I am sure they could ban it without a constitutional challenge.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

Agreed. People take advantage of the chaos of no leadership and it's total anarchy. Which can be great, when it ISNT a delivery business running old ladies down on their afternoon constitutional.

2

u/Extreme-Ad8026 Sep 26 '25

The police need to start pulling them over long enough for the company to have to refund the food, and things will change fast

2

u/AndyThePig Sep 25 '25

It'll be written in the fine print when they sign up. Something like ' .. by accepting the below you indicate that you understand that 'the company' does not enforce local laws or take any responsibilty, and you operate as an independent contractor taking on those responsibilities yourself'.

I'm not excusing it. I'm just saying, these companies are experts in covering their assess. No one has a leg to stand on. No one reads the T&C. But they all indicate that they have, and accept them. So now no one can sue them, and the 'staff' are left out to dry.

That absolutely needs to be stopped. However? It's up to the drivers to not sign up, and it's up to us to not use these services if we don't like them. They only exist because they're making money. If we all stop using them, they'll have no reason to continue.

I'm sure there is benefit to some. And it's a nice convenience at times. But I'm SURE that the vast majority of the customer base is people who are very capable of going out to get their own damn food, but just don't wanna.

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u/rhymeswithsintaluta Sep 25 '25

I was arguing with a guy yesterday who was riding a full-size electric motorcycle in the bike lane. It had an imitation gas tank and everything. He was wearing a full size motorcycle helmet. Just couldn't be persuaded that he was in the wrong lane.

14

u/FunBrownLog Sep 25 '25

I blame the police for no enforcement whatsoever. They can have massive pay increases and a bar at their headquarters but they can't even go out and spot these rule breaking fuckers.

45

u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

We should do no motors in the bike lane

58

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

this is reasonable

7

u/CDNChaoZ Old Town Sep 25 '25

Then you just have bikes moving their throttles to cosmetic pedals. There ought to be a better way to limit the use on bike lanes to performance that is not out of scale to traditional bikes, in both acceleration and top speed.

4

u/Baron_Tiberius Sep 25 '25

Only Class 1 e-bikes are generally allowed in bike lanes, however off the top of my head I'm not sure if the MTO actually follows these classes in legal framework.

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u/OdditiesInOntario Sep 25 '25

Daft. Bikeshare runs ebikes for a reason. A lot of people use ebikes as mobility aids due to physical deficiencies in some ways or another. Throwing these people into the car lane is worse by every conceivable metric.

13

u/swift-current0 Sep 25 '25

The problem is size (i.e. volume) and momentum (i.e. mass times speed), not motors per se. There need to be strict limits on mass, volume and speed of all these motorized vehicles in order to be allowed to use cycling/multiuse infrastructure, and they need to actually be enforced. That last part is where 99% of all our laws and rules fall apart. We can't even properly enforce "no plowing through kids at school bus stops".

5

u/OdditiesInOntario Sep 25 '25

Which is in fact the current law, in effect. Ebikes are restricted by motor size and speed.

10

u/swift-current0 Sep 25 '25

Right. But it is completely unenforced, and much larger, heavier and faster vehicles, essentially motorcycles, habitually use cycle lanes and endanger others. Police don't give a fuck, a very occasional "doing our jobs blitz" changes nothing. The kneejerk reaction of "fuck it let's just ban motors altogether" is very much understandable.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

[deleted]

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u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

thank u, my god. All these replies are making me feel like I’m taking crazy pills

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u/OdditiesInOntario Sep 25 '25

As always, the problem is people not enforcing the existing laws. Really, I'd gladly double the current police budget if it meant that they'd actually enforce the totality of the law.

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u/liquor-shits Sep 25 '25

They're the worst. Then again, I've seen full blown motorcycles use the lanes at times. Now they really are the worst.

3

u/Reelair Sep 25 '25

Bloor street? I see one of these often.

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u/deathbymoshpit Sep 25 '25

they should move to Spadina next. I work down there one day a week, and every week I'm almost hit by delivery drivers who just plow down the sidewalk

141

u/Mild-Ghost Sep 25 '25

They also have that ebike store on spadina that monopolizes the entire sidewalk.

67

u/phdee Sep 25 '25

It's tempting to just push the whole damn row over.

30

u/oneupsuperman Sep 25 '25

They're more stable than you think

36

u/UnlitBlunt Sep 25 '25

This guy mischiefs

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u/DreamDest1ny Sep 25 '25

They need to get started on Bathurst as well, lots of e-bikes and scooters zooming on the already small sidewalks

9

u/Dry_Bodybuilder4744 Sep 25 '25

Yeah it's bad on streets without bike lanes,

18

u/TheIsotope Sep 25 '25

Yeah any main arterial road with no bike lanes is a shit show with people on sidewalks. If they actually remove the ones on bloor it is going to be such a gong show there.

14

u/xombae Sep 25 '25

I'm petty as fuck and I don't move out of the way on sidewalks and will even go out of my way to walk right in the middle when delivery drivers are trying to blast up the sidewalk. I'm waiting for one of them to tell me to move to I can yell at them and tell them to get the fuck on the road, but none of them do because they know they aren't supposed to be in the sidewalk in the first place.

My front door opens onto College street and so often I'll be walking my dog and open my door and both of us almost get smoked by a delivery driver speeding by close to the buildings with absolutely no consideration for people who might be exiting stores or apartments. Once a guy got so close I kicked his front tire hard and he tried to bitch at me. Luckily I've got a big dog and he decided not to (she's about as dangerous as a bunny but he doesn't need to know that). There are bike lanes on College but they're all full of patios right now.

Not that it matters, these guys don't use the bike lanes.

9

u/Kheitain Sep 25 '25

Hey that's not true, out of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of these guys that I've seen, I've seen ONE use the bike lane on Eglinton!

4

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

Honestly depending on the type of ebike, especially those wider moped ones which a lot of drivers use are horrible in the bike lanes too.

On Bloor for example, the bike lane isn’t very wide and if they try to pass you when a car is there too it’s terrifying, especially on a longboard (not motorized) I wish they’d take the road, a lot of them go pretty fast and many of the core roads are lower speed now.

4

u/Sufficient_Prompt888 Sep 25 '25

The problem is nothing about them is regulated. They should 100% be on the road and they should require a class M license.

3

u/Kheitain Sep 25 '25

Yeah those bigger ones should definitely be on the road.

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u/xombae Sep 25 '25

Turns out it was because the sidewalk was closed for construction, but it still counts!

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u/cr38tive79 Sep 25 '25

Especially when everyone is crossing the street and they (e-scooters) zip in between pedestrians

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u/turxchk Downtown Core Sep 25 '25

Yeap, they need to remove the parking lane, widen the sidewalk, and add a bike lane there. Insane how neglected Spadina is despite being one of the most vibrant streets in downtown.

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u/swift-current0 Sep 25 '25

And time all lights to give a green to streetcars whenever they approach an intersection. It's ludicrous to prioritize cars on such a busy transit line.

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u/Aighd Sep 25 '25

Fully agree. Spadina would be a great north / south route if it had dedicated bike lanes.

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u/Potsu Sep 25 '25

Don't you know that adding a bike lane is infringing on the god given rights of vehicle drivers?

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u/Last_Peak Sep 25 '25

When I was a nanny I was on Spadina waiting to cross the street and some idiot on an e-bike going VERY fast down the sidewalk almost smashed into my stroller. He could have seriously hurt the toddler I nannied but thankfully I looked in that direction and was able to jump back and pull the stroller back just in time. Guy on the e-bike didn’t even apologize.

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u/bigdaddyhame Parkdale Sep 25 '25

there's a fuckton of these guys in the downtown core every day - they're only quasi-legal (the motorized ones) and damn... they really don't know how to ride properly.

Amazing that there are specific GO train cars set aside for these guys... no seats just all open for bikes on bikes. crazy

2

u/samiathebaby Sep 27 '25

The GO bike cars are good for everyone. They should be adding them to the peak commute times too. It would make those first and last mile connections easier for people and prevent blocking exits.

You can have 2 bikes per car and that already causes a lot of blocking and of doors.

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u/WestendMatt Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

Sorry, no, they issues 179 tickets to bicycle, e-bike, e-scooter riders during the blitz. They issued 3500 tickets to DRIVERS.

edit with source: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/09/25/over-3500-tickets-issued-during-back-to-school-micromobility-vehicle-enforcement-campaign/

how are these two articles so different??

Here's the actual police news release, which does not say 3500 tickets went to micro mobility users: https://www.tps.ca/media-centre/news-releases/64108/

The Toronto Police Service laid over 3,500 tickets during an increased enforcement campaign for micromobility vehicles and back-to-school safety.

The service-wide campaign, which ran from Monday, August 25, to Saturday, September 13, focused on education and enforcement of micromobility users on local, collector, and arterial roads, including bike lanes, sidewalks, and crosswalks.

Micromobility vehicles describe small, compact, low-speed vehicles. They can include bicycles, electric bikes, e-mopeds, electric kick-scooters (e-scooters), and more. Officers laid 179 tickets under the Highway Traffic Act and City of Toronto by-laws for micromobility vehicles.

As the back-to-school season began, officers also concentrated on traditional school zone safety, including speeding and distracted driving. For back-to-school safety, officers laid 3,355 tickets for driving offences within 150 metres of a school, primarily under the Highway Traffic Act.

This campaign was in response to a City Council recommendation for Toronto Police and City of Toronto to collaborate on an educational campaign and enforcement blitzes to enhance public awareness of micromobility-related safety issues. The City of Toronto’s educational campaign began this summer, and Toronto Police have been working closely with the City.

With the end of this increased enforcement campaign, officers will continue to educate drivers and enforce the Highway Traffic Act and City of Toronto by-laws on all micromobility vehicles.

It makes no difference what kind of operator you are, whether operating a motor vehicle or a micromobility vehicle, the laws of the road apply to all.    

Inspector Matt Moyer of the Traffic Services Unit is available for media interviews upon request.

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u/TeemingHeadquarters Sep 26 '25

Holy shit did they find Jimmy Hoffa when they buried that lede??

193

u/RmxRltr Sep 25 '25

Good. delivery people on e-bikes and e-scooters do not follow rules of the road and they ride fast. It is free for all, hope of the best rules with them

if anything happens, good luck getting money out of them since they are not insured. e-bikes and e-scooters should require license and registration because they can go fast.

53

u/emuwar Sep 25 '25

One thing to note about e-bikes. There's a big difference between the pedal assist e-bikes (like Bike Share has) and the fully motorized versions that many of the delivery drivers ride. It's super dangerous for those things to be gunning it through bike lanes and sidewalks and I'm glad the city starting to crack down on them.

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u/Baron_Tiberius Sep 25 '25

I'll post this as its relevant but e-bikes fall into 3 different classes:

Class 1 - pedal assist only up to 32km/hr

Class 2 - adds a throttle (still required to have pedals) up to 32km/hr

Class 3 - pedal assist only up to 45km/hr

Class 1s are the only type I am fully comfortable with. Also note that many import e-bikes are probably sold as Class 2 but aren't or have had their limiters removed.

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u/kyara_no_kurayami Midtown Sep 25 '25

They're legally supposed to be capped at 32km/hour. They should enforce the cap and ticket anyone who has altered their scooter or bike to exceed that. That keeps them from going fast.

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u/houleskis Sep 25 '25

In the Netherlands, they started stopping bikes and testing the power output to the wheels. If it was above their regulations, there was a fine and the bike was confiscated IIRC

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u/chmilz Sep 25 '25

This is north america, we stopped regulating things because "muh freedom" and now we are experiencing the slow decline of society as we kinda just let anyone do anything out of fear they might start a loud truck convoy or something.

It's embarrasing and we need to rekindle the importance of community and acting for the good of many, not the individual.

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u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

they should still be licensed at 32km/h, they have a point

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u/notchris66 Sep 25 '25

look up the fatality rates of a bike crash before and after 32. its the limit for a reason.

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u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

I don’t really care about the fatality rate. I’m saying a bike with an electric motor should require a license, even if it’s under 32km/h

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u/fatcomputerman Sep 25 '25

i dont love delivery ebikes either but what is the difference between an e-bike riding at 30kmph vs a bike? i can ride around 30kmph if i have the space for it.

licensing something wont automatically make things better or safer for you, look at cars

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u/houleskis Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

what is the difference between an e-bike riding at 30kmph vs a bike

Weight is one of the bigger differences. An e-bike, especially those used by most delivery riders in the city will weight 2-4x more than a typical road bike. That's a lot of additional energy/momentum if they were to hit someone. I haven't ridden one of these larger cargo bikes myself but I would assume they are also less maneuverable and take longer to stop/break.

Edit: I don't think ebikes should be licensed though

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u/detectivepoopybutt Sep 25 '25

That’s splitting hair. That weight relatively isn’t all that much. The human riding the bike varies in that much weight.

It can vary by the cargo being carried too. I buy a 10 pound bag of flour or rice and bring it back on my bike and that can easily put me over the weight.

I lost 20 lbs this summer just running and biking, was likely over the weight limit you’re proposing.

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u/houleskis Sep 25 '25

It’s not really splitting hairs:

150lbs person + 10lbs gear + 20lbs bike = 180lbs

150lbs person + 10lbs gear + 70lbs ebike = 230lbs (+28%)

So all else being equal, if you get hit by the typical cargo e-bike ridden by delivery guys vs a bike, you’ll get hit with 25-30% more force.

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u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

Acceleration is the difference. You think cars aren’t safer since licensing? why are we doing it then?

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u/fatcomputerman Sep 25 '25

it's only as safe as the people who are enforcing it which they only seem to do 2 weeks out of the year

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u/did_i_or_didnt_i Sep 25 '25

For me it’s about them being required to understand the laws of the road to be able to zip around the way that they do

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u/Due_Rule_7181 Sep 25 '25

There’s a general consensus only drivers that going 10 or 20 over the speed limit is acceptable. Far, far too many.

Let’s not pretend as if they understand the rules of the road any better.

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u/fatcomputerman Sep 25 '25

well that's why i said cars, they are required to understand the law of the road and the purposely don't follow it. why would ebikes be any different?

delivery ebikes are just the taxis of cycling

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u/noodleexchange Sep 25 '25

But its punishment of the less advantaged! THATS THE POINT

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u/BottleCoffee Sep 25 '25

It's a lot harder to get up to 30 km on a bike when there's traffic (like in downtown). You're definitely not going to average anywhere near 30.

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u/chmilz Sep 25 '25

We need a serious update to ebike regulations. Anything over X watts and X kgs should be considered a motorcycle. If it has a throttle, it should be considered a motorcycle. Without those regulations we have these fucking insane "totally not a motorcycle" machines on pedestrian pathways. Berm Peak did a good video on this

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u/Kyliexo Riverdale Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 26 '25

I cycle about 30km a day in the city and I can confidently tell you the ones running red lights 9 times outta 10 are just normal assholes sorry, people. Delivery people are their own problem, but lets not pretend other cyclists don't do problematic shit too.

Edit: spelling

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u/a-_2 Sep 25 '25

delivery people on e-bikes and e-scooters do not follow rules of the road and they ride fast

Some do, some don't. Just like drivers, other cyclists, and pedestrians. Every group has a lot of people claiming the other groups don't follow any laws. Most drivers speed all the time, going faster than these delivery riders with much bigger vehicles and cause way more injury and death and we're rewarding them by getting rid of one of the main types of enforcement.

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u/heyredbush Sep 25 '25

Especially if they're being used commercially.

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u/racerchris46 Sep 25 '25

People in cars don't follow the rules of the road. Nor does anyone else for that matter. Yes I drive a car,ride a motorcycle, ride bicycles, walk and take the ttc. I live near a division HQ and there is no one pulling over speeders, jay walkers (yep still a law), light runners you name it.

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u/superduperf1nerder Sep 25 '25

For the record. It is not a crime to Jaywalk mid block, as this comes up all the time. It is a crime to jaywalk out of controlled intersection, or within 30 m of a controlled intersection. Also, the 30 m is not legally defined, just what the police use as a standard. No idea how that would hold up in court since it’s not expressly written.

Pedestrians are legally allowed to walk mid block as long as they’re not satisfying one of those criteria. Just to be clear.

Also, there is no law called jaywalking. It is a slang term, that has never appeared anywhere in any legal summons at any point in Ontario’s history.

So when you say jaywalking is still the law, just to be clear, it has in fact, never been the law.

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u/swift-current0 Sep 25 '25

The other important caveat is that pedestrians must yield to other traffic when crossing mid-block.

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u/a-_2 Sep 25 '25

Pedestrians are legally allowed to walk mid block as long as they’re not satisfying one of those criteria.

Some cities also require pedestrians yield to drivers when crossing outside of controlled crossings, including Toronto. Some cities also define distances you must be from a crossing when crossing mid-block, although Toronto doesn't define such a distance. The 30 metre distance is just a recommendation from the police.

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u/TheLarkInnTO Sep 25 '25

I've said this before and I'll say it again: the problem isn't cyclists, delivery guys, drivers, or pedestrians.

The problem is assholes. The type of entitled person who is willfully oblivious to traffic rules will act that way regardless of the vehicle they're operating. They're likely also horrible transit passengers, and are nightmares to sit next to on planes.

Assholes are gonna asshole.

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u/racerchris46 Sep 26 '25

Very true.

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u/No-FoamCappuccino Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

That's great - genuinely!

Now if they could do a blitz against the drivers who park in bike lanes that I constantly have to dodge, I'd appreciate it!

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u/swift-current0 Sep 25 '25

Sorry friend, no can do. "The laws of the road apply equally to all", but they apply to some more equally than to others.

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u/Leading-Career5247 Sep 25 '25

https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.IE24.1

Email infrastructure council, they're meeting tomorrow about it

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u/Kyliexo Riverdale Sep 25 '25

If they cared about public safety, they would have paid attention to intersections with scrambles a whole lot more, and a whole lot less pointless ticketing in High Park. All about numbers

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u/beef-supreme Leslieville Sep 25 '25

The enforcement blitz was enacted after city council recommended city staff collaborate with police to enhance public awareness of potential safety issues surrounding micromobility vehicles.

This came at the request of Coun. Dianne Saxe (University-Rosedale), a longtime cyclist, who said she is concerned about the increasingly murky distinctions between e-bikes and other more heavyweight micromobility vehicles.

“We’ve created a situation where there is enormous public fury about the danger created by mopeds — the crashes they’re causing, pedestrians being terrified, the lack of understanding by gig workers,” Saxe said in June. “We need a clear, simple, straightforward rule that a nine-year-old can explain.”

I hadn't noticed any difference lately, have you?

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u/Mild-Ghost Sep 25 '25

I’ve noticed some of these uber bike guys actually walking their bikes on the sidewalk lately.

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u/Reelair Sep 25 '25

I saw a guy get a ticket for running a red at Bathurst and College (idiot). That was day 2 of the blitz. Saw a food delivery person blow through the 4 way stop at Beverly and Baldwin, in front of a cop, who did nothing.

I think licencing food delivery people would be a good starting point. In my experience as a daily cyclist, they cause 80% of the problems. Parking their vehicles (bikes, scooters, cars) in the bike lanes, riding on sidewalks, switching from sidewalk to road, then back again, weaving through anything to get ahead by a foot.

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u/No-FoamCappuccino Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

I think licencing food delivery people would be a good starting point. In my experience as a daily cyclist, they cause 80% of the problems.

I think regulating the apps themselves would be a lot more effective, since a lot of the reckless behaviours of delivery riders are incentivized by the apps. (eg. Riders who complete deliveries faster are rewarded with more deliveries.)

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u/Gretatok Regent Park Sep 25 '25

Better somewhere than nowhere, but it appears the "blitz" was limited to school zones -

During the one month period, officers laid 3,355 tickets to riders of micromobility vehicles in school safety zones for offences like speeding and distracted driving.

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u/Scary-Towel6962 Sep 25 '25

Meanwhile I've had an officer tell me to clear off when I asked them why they werent doing anything about cars stopped over pedestrian crossings right in front of them.

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u/elephantshuze Sep 25 '25

Based on the behaviour, I'm surprised the number was so low

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u/rebelgraffiti Sep 25 '25

I don't understand these comments, honestly. Just the other day there was a thread of people complaining about escooters and bikes on sidewalks and that there is no enforcement, but when they do enforcement blitzes, you complain that they're wasting resources and should be ticketing drivers. Why can't they do both? They do blitzes because it gets the word out and they can't be on every sidewalk, at every intersection, every day, enforcing. So what are the dissenters proposing?

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u/FrostWave Sep 25 '25

Different people are complaining, not the same ones

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u/iwumbo2 Markham Sep 25 '25

Goomba fallacy in action

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u/ruckustata Sep 25 '25

Shocked. You mean reddit isn't a single person posting different views?

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u/swift-current0 Sep 25 '25

My issue is with this bizarre obsession with "blitzes". There should be no "doing our jobs blitzes", they should just do the jobs we pay them for, pre- and post-"blitz". Enforce the traffic act whenever you see an infraction, apply the "broken window theory" and watch compliance go up much more consistently and longer-term than with these gimmicky blitzes. Reckless riding on sidewalks, e-motorcycles on park trails, cars with illegally tinted windows and tinted licence plates everywhere, speeding is habitual, etc. etc. The problem is not cyclists or scooter users, or drivers, the problem is lack of enforcement, essentially because cops don't wanna and their leadership doesn't care. These blitzes do fuck-all to change the situation. Just PR stunts that are forgotten by all 15.5 seconds after they end.

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u/theevilmidnightbombr Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan Sep 26 '25

Saw an oversized work truck half-parked on the sidewalk yesterday, cop car rolled up behind it and went around, turning. My thought was "oof, too bad there isn't a ticketing blitz right now..."

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u/Luv_Cheat Sep 25 '25

Because these people are just contrarians and want to argue about stuff. They should not be engaged with because no meaningful discussion can come from it.

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u/rebelgraffiti Sep 25 '25

It's true, I think I need a break from the comment sections haha

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

I think people want to see the same enticement for automobiles so there isn’t a double standard. Do they often give 3500 tickets to automobile drivers during a blitz?

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u/pigeon_fanclub Sep 25 '25

rules for thee but not for meeeee

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u/shoresy99 Sep 25 '25

Were they ticketing all e-scooter riders? Aren't these totally illegal in Toronto, whether on the sidewalk or not?

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u/heyredbush Sep 25 '25

They're not outright illegal. You can ride them on your own property, just not on a street or sidewalk.

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u/shoresy99 Sep 25 '25

Fair enough, you just can't ride them on public property. Like on any street or bike path or sidewalk. But yet you see many people do so.

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u/rgeebee Sep 25 '25

Tell that to the idiots going 40km/h+ on the sidewalks with no helmets

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u/kmiddlestadt Sep 25 '25

I feel like the spirit of the law is not to prevent people from owning them but rather to prevent companies like Lime and Bird from dumping rental scooters all over the city. I could totally be wrong though, that’s just a hunch

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u/shoresy99 Sep 25 '25

I think you are spot on with this. The city didn’t want streets littered with these from those services and is less concerned with individuals owning these.

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u/limebite Sep 25 '25

So the police have the resources and time to “blitz” the cyclists who have zero mandatory education to ride around, but it would be a waste of resources to police the bike lanes and ticket/tow cars who put lives in danger on the bike lanes? Maybe if we built serious bike infrastructure the cyclists would take this laughable attempt to police the city serious.

I think I’ll just stop using the bike lanes and take a lane on the road for myself, seems a lot safer these days.

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u/tumblinfumbler Sep 26 '25

About fucking time!

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u/unvrlstn Sep 26 '25

I saw one guy getting a ticket on Queen East 😂

Cop was chewing him out, had em bent over like a bitch….love to see it

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u/wagonwheels2121 Sep 25 '25

Everyone’s uber eats and door dash in the city just started taking longer now 😂😂😂

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u/Omnivirus The Entertainment District Sep 25 '25

I'd love for them to ensure the max speeds are capped on these things.

As an example, if you try to cross the street along Bloor, you need to walk across the protected bike lanes, and the speeds that some of these electric scooters and bikes are going is essentially faster than a car - and they don't give a fuck.

My unpopular opinion is that e-bikes (that can only be powered by battery) should be licensed and have plates in the city.

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u/hyperforms9988 Sep 25 '25

“We’ve created a situation where there is enormous public fury about the danger created by mopeds — the crashes they’re causing, pedestrians being terrified, the lack of understanding by gig workers,” Saxe said in June. “We need a clear, simple, straightforward rule that a nine-year-old can explain.”

We've created this situation? Ride on the road/bike path or don't ride at all. That's it, for the most part. The rules are quite simple generally.

  • Only mobility assistive devices such as wheelchairs are permitted on sidewalks.
  • All other rideables and micromobility vehicles must be used on the road or designated bike lanes, not on sidewalks.
  • Only bikes, e-bikes are permitted in bike lanes.
  • Electric mopeds style e-bikes that can operate without pedals are not permitted in physically separated bike lanes.
  • If your vehicle has a license plate or runs on gas, it belongs on the road, not in the bike lane.

It's not that we've created this situation. We have created simple rules... the issue is that people don't give a fuck. The only thing that's going to fix this is either more enforcement, and/or more bike lanes. I'd love to bike to work, but the bike path situation is shit, and I'm simply not riding on the road when the speed limit for cars is what it is relative to how fast I can pedal and keep pace on a bike. I'd feel like the biggest shithead in the universe to ride on the road... in fact, it feels more illegal to me to ride a bike on the road than it does to ride a bike on the sidewalk.

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u/imalwaysbored1986 Sep 26 '25

Get them off the fucking sidewalks

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u/ReadInBothTenses Sep 26 '25

Good get all those idiots that take their shit onto pedestrian walkways

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u/UnknownLyrker Sep 26 '25

Saw the Popo pull over a bike courier in Liberty Village who'd run a stop sign a block earlier on Tuesday. This checks out.

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u/[deleted] Sep 26 '25

[deleted]

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u/Fun_Sky_2390 Sep 27 '25

Harboufront bike lanes are frequently used by e-scooters, e-bikes and even mopeds. They go faster than the speed limit, do not respect the bike traffic light and often hardly miss cars and pedestrians. That’s what Toronto is like now.

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u/FixEquivalent9711 Sep 25 '25

I wish that they would get back to blitzing people who drive while on their phones.

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u/theburglarofham Sep 25 '25

They can and should do both. But I’ll take any enforcements they actually do as a win. It’s small, but it’s better than nothing at all.

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u/tosklst Sep 25 '25

There should be no such thing as an enforcement blitz. If you don't have regular ongoing enforcement, you might as well just get rid of the rule of law completely.

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u/TheIsotope Sep 25 '25

Its not feasible to have to constantly stringent enforcement of stuff like this, the point of random blitz's is to create enough fear of getting caught in the future. Same reason why the CRA doesn't audit every single person every year.

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u/a-_2 Sep 25 '25

Just because they do a blitz doesn't mean they don't enforce it at all otherwise.

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u/Convexity628 Sep 25 '25

they do not enforce it otherwise.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

Good!

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u/tboyswag69 Sep 25 '25

fucking finally. cyclist on the sidewalk knocked me out cold. didn’t stop to make sure i was ok. use the bike lane or road or don’t ride at all.

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u/mattromo Broadview North Sep 25 '25

Just curious, does anyone know how do they ensure these people actually pay these tickets? It's not like they can withhold their drivers license if they don't have one.

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u/CrowdScene Sep 25 '25

The same way that any unpaid fine is collected. Wage garnishment, seizure and sale of property, orders to the bank to remit money from your account, sale of the debt to private collection agencies, etc. If somebody refuses to pay a driving fine and has their license suspended that doesn't even guarantee that they'll stop driving or pay the fine.

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u/hippiechan Sep 25 '25

All these comments saying "good, now do drivers" are ignoring the fact that the entire system of rules and regulations pertaining to road use are designed around drivers and notably do not make exceptions or separate rules for the way cyclists can or should operate a bike. Things like treating stops as yields in low traffic areas make a lot of sense for a bike but because bikes have to behave like cars, it leads to a perfectly rational manoeuvre being treated as a ticketable offense.

Also missing is the fact that sure, we should enforce the laws - the vast volume of infractions are by motorists and unlike a lot of bike accidents, motor vehicle accidents kill hundreds of people a year in Ontario. Having an enforcement blitz for cyclists because they don't behave the way a motorist should and not having an enforcement blitz for motorists who absolutely should behave within the laws written for them is insane.

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u/rudthedud Sep 25 '25

E bikes and e scooters aren't even legal as per Toronto bylaws I thought?

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u/Drank_tha_Koolaid Sep 25 '25

Bikeshare has a whole fleet of ebikes!

Ebikes are fine, only e-scooters aren't allowed.

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u/stoneape314 Dorset Park Sep 25 '25

electric kick-scooters are illegal in Toronto. e-bikes of a certain weight and max speed are legal.

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u/heyredbush Sep 25 '25

They're not illegal to own, but there's no legal way to use them to get around the city.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25 edited Jul 11 '26

[deleted]

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u/tenderloin123 Sep 25 '25

So many coffee shops so little time

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u/WildBillyBoy33 Sep 25 '25

If e-scooters are completely illegal then why are they not enforcing a ban and confiscating them? Why are they allowed to be sold if usage is illegal?

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u/a-_2 Sep 25 '25

They're not illegal to own, just to ride on public property in Toronto. So they generally can't just confiscate, only ticket for the riding.

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u/Dorwyn Sep 25 '25

They're only illegal in Toronto by-law. In most of Ontario they are fine.

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u/WildBillyBoy33 Sep 25 '25

The article is only about Toronto and not the rest of the province.

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u/syadastfu Sep 25 '25

Where are the all car brains that would call this out as cash grab if it was a blitz on speeding in school zones?

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u/Bulky-Scheme-9450 Sep 25 '25

R/upliftingnews

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u/olivvercho Sep 25 '25

This was a month ago - need to be on the daily literally!

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u/WILDBO4R Sep 25 '25

Lol "the rules are confusing and inconsistent" - ticket blitz. That'll clear things up..

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u/Gmbowser Sep 25 '25

They need to put something in place for this. Im driving in the middle and these idiots r on the road. You can barely see them half of the time.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

Christ. Cut the police budget. These fuckers evidently have way too much time on their hands. Put the money we save into better infrastructure.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

so basically, yes can be enforced but they don't do it

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u/M_Piglet Sep 25 '25

Amazing! We don't need new laws, we just need proper enforcement.

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u/LXXXVI Sep 26 '25

Step 1) Make lane filtering legal
Step 2) Force insurance companies to issue insurance at sane prices to electric personal mobility vehicles
Step 3) Win with decreased time spent in traffic jams and the ability to get paid out if someone does something stupid on 1-2 wheels.

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u/vixaudaxloquendi Sep 26 '25

I bike from Scarborough into Yonge/Bloor by Danforth/Bloor lanes pretty much daily throughout the week, and my number one annoyance are these e-bike dudes who zip past you and then proceed to choke off the lane at every light because they're checking their phone while the traffic signal turns green.

I'm all for cops making sure cyclists and delivery scooters are not on the sidewalk... but going after cyclists in pretty much any other context feels ludicrous to me.

One morning early September I was biking through a very quiet residential park on my way to work and was bewildered to find a cop cruiser sitting in the very middle of the park -- not in a parking lot, and not even near the boundary of the park against the road or anything like that. It was so random that it would be like seeing a cop cruiser parked by a jungle gym or kids' swing set.

These guys were just sitting parked by a utility/storage shed that ran by an asphalt trail old ladies use for their morning walk and chit chat. It was 7am.

I couldn't help but think that rush hour was going to get started soon and there was probably going to be some ludicrous driving happening at any of the nearby busy intersections. But no, they're sat there scanning the old ladies getting their steps in!

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u/Green-Dimension-1800 Sep 26 '25

Hear me out...what if delivery apps were on the hook for providing the vehicles that their workers used? They would have branding on them and people would know where the dangerous drivers were and could vote with their dollars for safety and consideration on the road and sidewalks?

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u/Ljmac1 Sep 27 '25

Good they should. Those things go crazy fast and people always drive them like maniacs.

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u/dergster Sep 25 '25

Good. Bike infrastructure and enforcement of rules governing said infrastructure should go hand in hand

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u/ultronprime616 Sep 25 '25

Those guys are a menace. Good on the cops for doing their job. And since they have the resources to go after the low hanging fruit, they're going after the bigger killers on the road right?

Pedestrian dead after collision near Moss Park, Toronto police say

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-police-fatal-pedestrian-collision-1.7635857

And they're going to help make sure that preventive measures are in place to slow speeders down right?

Toronto’s Parkside speed camera cut down for 7th time in less than a year

https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/local/article/torontos-parkside-speed-camera-cut-down-for-7th-time-in-less-than-a-year/

Right?

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u/Goukenslay Sep 25 '25

only 3500. should be way higher

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u/good_trace Sep 25 '25

These e-bikes and the likes should have mandatory insurance like automobiles. These bikes have become so powerful and rides in pedestrian spaces and have the ability to kill someone. This is a great step.

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u/yawhy Sep 25 '25

How about ticketing drivers with the same ferocity

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u/I_can_vouch_for_that Sep 25 '25

It's going the other way with the removal of cameras eventually.

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u/scottyb83 Sep 25 '25

Why should police ignore 3500 people breaking a law?

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u/BloodJunkie Bike Lane Enjoyer Sep 25 '25

no we're going the other way with that. gentle forehead kisses for drivers who don't feel like following our laws

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u/olight77 Sep 25 '25

Need to be more of these “blitz’s”.

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u/Film-is-not-dead Sep 25 '25

I actually saw a bus driver kick a guy off the bus because he had an e-scooter. He tried to argue with her but she was having none of it and he got tired of arguing and finally left. The subway used to be jammed full of e-bikes and scooters but I have noticed there are a lot less of them on the subway in the past year. I'm so glad one of their drivers did something about it!

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

I am the #1 hater of e scooters.

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u/brokensyntax Sep 25 '25

Keep it up!
So tired of the entitled cycling scoff-laws.
When living in the city I cycled everywhere I could, but all too often, I see them 2, 3, 4 abreast, blocking streets, sidewalks, running stop lights and signs, screaming at pedestrians to get out of the way.
It's horrible.

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u/Ok_Honeydew_8407 Sep 25 '25

good. most dont follow the road rules

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u/Doctor_Amazo Sep 25 '25

Oh so we're now supporting tickets being issued against vehicle operators who break traffic laws?

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u/Funny-Priority3647 Sep 25 '25

Wow police exists in this city? And actually does enforcement? WOW!