City weighs e-mobility safety rules

Summary#

On October 5, 2026, the Executive Committee carried Councillor McLean’s motion to send the e-mobility notice of motion to Council for consideration on October 27, 2026. The committee did not approve new rules or direct City staff to prepare a report.

  • The notice asks Council to direct City staff to report by the first quarter of 2027 on ways to improve e-mobility safety, possibly including a regulatory framework or bylaw changes.
  • It asks staff to consider different types of devices, where and under what conditions they may be used, and how to balance safety with affordability and recreational and transportation use.

What it means for you#

  • People who use e-mobility devices and other pathway, street and sidewalk users: This committee decision does not change where devices may be used or how they must be operated.
  • City staff: They have not yet been directed to prepare the proposed report. Council is to consider the notice.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

  • The notice does not state a cost or funding source for the proposed report or any future changes.

What is unclear#

  • Whether Council will approve the notice, and what direction it may give.
  • The notice says Council should consider the matter on October 27, 2026, but its text also refers to October 27, 2027. The committee’s carried motion specifies 2026.
  • If Council approves the proposed staff report, its recommendations, any rules, costs and start dates are not yet known.

Case for#

  • Councillor McLean’s notice says device types and their popularity have changed since the City’s 2019 review, and argues that safety rules may need updating.
  • The notice cites concern about unsafe use of higher-powered devices and injuries, particularly among children and youth, as reasons to consider action.

Case against#

  • The materials include no stated opposition to the notice. A concern is that the proposed review covers many device types and questions but does not set out specific rules, costs or how safety would be weighed against affordability and recreation.

Votes

Executive Committee, item 5.2.5 (Notice of Motion - Updating Calgary’s E-Mobility Framework, EC2026-0926): That with respect to Notice of Motion EC2026-0926, the following be approved, after amendment: NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Executive Committee forward this Notice of Motion to the 2026 October 27 Regular Meeting of Council for consideration.

For (100%)