Calgary e-scooter changes coming to 17 Avenue S.W.

Users will no longer be able to ride Calgary’s shared e-scooters on a stretch of 17 Avenue S.W.

The City of Calgary made the announcement on Monday, while also announcing the introduction of e-scooter corrals.

The changes are part of a pilot hoped to clear clutter and make sidewalks more accessible.

Andrew Sedor, the city’s mobility initiative lead, says feedback from both scooter uses and non-users collected over the past year was that the electric vehicles are often parked haphazardly in busy pedestrian areas.

So, the city developed “sleek, artistic and functional” parking corrals for the e-scooters. 

The pilot will also see ‘geofencing’ technology used in a section on 17 Avenue S.W.

Geofencing technology?

A Monday news release from the city explained e-scooters will be ‘geofenced’ to stop them from being ridden on 17 Avenue S.W. between Fourth and Eighth Street S.W.

Instead, users have to navigate to adjacent streets and avenues.

In addition, e-scooters can only be parked in designated parking areas on 17 Avenue S.W. between Fourth and Eighth Street S.W.

“Please park and walk if your destination is 17 Avenue,” the news release stated.

Sedor says the corrals are funded through fees the city collects from the e-scooter companies, and said if they are successful on 17 Avenue S.W., they will be expanded to other busy areas of the city.

The corrals themselves are designed and manufactured in-house, and feature artwork from artwork from Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts).

“These corrals are a fusion of function and character, and the art will be like a beam of light to draw people in,” said Hal Hayes, whose art is featured on the corrals.

In 2021, the City of Calgary selected Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility as the two vendors that can operate e-scooters and bikes in Calgary, signing them to a five-year contract.

You can ride a shared e-scooter city-wide on bicycle lanes, pathways, empty sidewalks and roadways with lower speed limits and lower traffic volumes (like 13 Avenue S.W.).

E-Scooters are not permitted on busier roadways like Macleod Trail.