North Van’s district council handed a movement Monday to look into the viability of an e-bike incentive program
The District of North Vancouver voted Monday night time to move forward with a glance into an e-bike incentive program for the area.
Tabled to council by Coun. Jordan Back, the e-bike incentive would take its cues from an analogous program launched simply final month in Saanich, B.C.
The proposed program could be obtainable to up to 300 contributors, with incentives starting from $350 to $1,600, means examined to family dimension and revenue.
Back introduced the movement by telling council about his private expertise utilizing an e-bike – he had commuted to downtown Vancouver by automotive for greater than 10 years, however transitioned to energetic commuting round two years in the past.
“Now I commute 50 to 60 per cent of the time [by e-bike] … with about a 36-kilometre round trip commute. And I have to say that the transition was really not all that hard to make, and it’s allowed me to replace about 6,000 km of what otherwise were car trips,” he stated.
Back stated there are a variety of serious advantages to implementing an incentive program, together with a lower in vehicular emissions and enhance in folks’s well being, as he and his fellow councillors search for methods to ease visitors congestion across the North Shore.
“We have to look at every idea. I think that [e-bikes] could be part of the solution. We’ve contributed to the millions of dollars, well over $200 million, in the Lower Lynn Highway interchange projects. We continue to advocate, now as the North Shore sub region, for much needed rapid transit to the North Shore,” he stated. “These are all important and I just think e-bikes are another layer that can help to get people moving again.”
However, when discussing the proposed research, Coun. Betty Forbes introduced up a couple of considerations, particularly the district’s ongoing bike-share pilot program with Lime Bikes.
“It’s a two-year pilot, with the idea when we put that in it was to go the two years and then assess, look at how the bikes function in our community, how much people either enjoyed them or didn’t enjoy them,” she stated. “So I think this is sort of ‘putting the cart before the horse,’ and we should wait for the results of a report from the Lime pilot before we go any further.”
Forbes made be aware that whereas she just isn’t “against active transportation,” she believes greenhouse fuel emissions from inner combustion automobiles will be sooner solved with electrical automobiles than e-bikes.
“I think what happens when you get into these e-bike conversations, is you forget about the electric car convert that can be on the road as well, and you solve your GHG issues and people who need to use cars can still use a car,” she stated.
Mayor Mike Little and Coun. Lisa Muri each questioned the timing of the research, suggesting workers on the district are overwhelmed with main initiatives already on the go. Little additionally questioned the need of an incentive program, contemplating bikes are already “selling like crazy” within the area.
Couns. Megan Curren and Mathew Bond each recommended an e-bike incentive is only one device that can be utilized within the district to meet the challenges of the local weather disaster and visitors congestion within the space.
However, Curren made be aware of the “inadequate bike infrastructure” that continues to be a barrier for commuters to change to energetic transport.
“I just want to make it clear that I understand that it’s not just that bikes are expensive, it’s that we also don’t have safe infrastructure for riding,” she stated. “Because the planning has always benefited and favoured cars. And as we look to the 21st century, we need to look to shifting modes, both in active transportation, and then certainly transit.”
The movement was handed 4 to three, with Little, Muri and Forbes voting in opposition to. A feasibility report from the district’s workers can be launched at a later date.
Charlie Carey is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.