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Cycling in Waterloo Region
This is a question for legal scholars, but given that the bylaw explicitly lists "discharging passengers" as exceptions to the "no parking" law, (and discharging passengers, is also not "parking"), then it would seem the intent of the law is more narrow, than the strictest legal definition of "parking". Of course, IANAL.

When it comes right down too it though, laws or not seem irrelevant, contractor vehicles, people on cell phones, yard work vehicles all block bike lanes with equal impunity, and nobody seems to care.

Again, we are back to the double standard, where apparently if a general traffic lane were being blocked, it would be ticketable.
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(07-18-2017, 12:04 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: When it comes right down too it though, laws or not seem irrelevant, contractor vehicles, people on cell phones, yard work vehicles all block bike lanes with equal impunity, and nobody seems to care.

Again, we are back to the double standard, where apparently if a general traffic lane were being blocked, it would be ticketable.

I don't think that's what Coke6pk is saying.  But there is a finite number of bylaw enforcement officers, so they cannot be everywhere.  If you think we should increase that number of officers, you probably should lobby the city council for that.  There would be a cost, but also some additional bylaw ticket revenue, not sure what the net budget impact would be.
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Another person allegedly intentionally run off the road in a road rage incident between KW and Guelph:

http://www.570news.com/2017/07/20/two-pe...-woolwich/

I do question how the police have charged the ebike rider. Unless the ebike was modified, then it's operator doesn't require insurance, or a license, or a permit.

I also expect to hear much victim blaming.
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Maybe it was a scooter rather than an e-bike? I think it's more likely that 570 made that mistake than that the police don't know the e-bike rules.
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(07-20-2017, 11:44 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Another person allegedly intentionally run off the road in a road rage incident between KW and Guelph:

http://www.570news.com/2017/07/20/two-pe...-woolwich/

I do question how the police have charged the ebike rider.  Unless the ebike was modified, then it's operator doesn't require insurance, or a license, or a permit.

I also expect to hear much victim blaming.

That's what I thought, to the point that they are favoured transportation for people who's drivers licence has been suspended.
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(07-20-2017, 12:01 PM)panamaniac Wrote:
(07-20-2017, 11:44 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Another person allegedly intentionally run off the road in a road rage incident between KW and Guelph:

http://www.570news.com/2017/07/20/two-pe...-woolwich/

I do question how the police have charged the ebike rider.  Unless the ebike was modified, then it's operator doesn't require insurance, or a license, or a permit.

I also expect to hear much victim blaming.

That's what I thought, to the point that they are favoured transportation for people who's drivers licence has been suspended.

I hear this all the time as well, but my understanding is that you cannot legally operate an ebike if your drivers licence is suspended due to a criminal code conviction (i.e. impaired driving).
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I knew that you could be charged with impaired while in control of an e-bike but I didn't know about the prohibition if your licence was suspended for an impaired conviction. Interesting - it's a bit of an urban myth, it seems.
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I looked it up just to be sure, from http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/...-faq.shtml

Quote:Q5: Can I operate an e-bike if my driver's licence has been suspended?
It depends on the particular circumstances that led to your licence suspension. If your licence is suspended because of a conviction that has resulted in a driving prohibition under the Criminal Code of Canada, you cannot legally operate an e-bike.
If your driver's licence has been suspended under other circumstances, you should discuss your situation with a licensed legal practitioner before deciding to operate an e-bike.
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Maybe the pedals were removed from the e-bike.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/...-faq.shtml
Quote:Q2: Can I remove the pedals from my e-bike?
No. If you remove the pedals from your e-bike, it is no longer considered to be an e-bike because it does not conform with the Highway Traffic Act definition of a power-assisted bicycle. Removing the pedals makes it an illegal vehicle. You could be ticketed for operating a motor vehicle without registration and insurance.
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(07-20-2017, 01:47 PM)timc Wrote: Maybe the pedals were removed from the e-bike.

Yeah, if you remove the vestigial pedals, how are you supposed to positively wreck the ankles of the poor saps you blow past on the trails?

[Image: rear-right-side.jpg]
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(07-20-2017, 12:29 PM)highlander Wrote: I looked it up just to be sure, from http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/...-faq.shtml

Quote:Q5: Can I operate an e-bike if my driver's licence has been suspended?
It depends on the particular circumstances that led to your licence suspension. If your licence is suspended because of a conviction that has resulted in a driving prohibition under the Criminal Code of Canada, you cannot legally operate an e-bike.
If your driver's licence has been suspended under other circumstances, you should discuss your situation with a licensed legal practitioner before deciding to operate an e-bike.

I wonder if that suspension applies to all motorized vehicles that don't require D/L's.  (ie. Boats, Golf Carts, Riding Lawn Mowers, etc.)

Coke
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Boats require a pleasure craft operator's license which presumably would have to be revoked separately... but I don't know the law well enough to know where to look.

Pivoting to a cycling question: what's the legality of pedaling alongside a line of stopped cars (this is lane splitting/filtering, yes?) waiting for a light when there's no bike box at the intersection and no bike lane alongside? I'm pretty sure that's a "no", but I've seen it done often enough to wonder.
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(07-21-2017, 04:26 PM)chutten Wrote: Boats require a pleasure craft operator's license which presumably would have to be revoked separately... but I don't know the law well enough to know where to look.

Pivoting to a cycling question: what's the legality of pedaling alongside a line of stopped cars (this is lane splitting/filtering, yes?) waiting for a light when there's no bike box at the intersection and no bike lane alongside? I'm pretty sure that's a "no", but I've seen it done often enough to wonder.

It isn't technically legal here (it is in the UK and in California, possibly other places).  But it's certainly common here for various reasons.

When there is a paved shoulder, this is a grey area, given that bikes are allowed to use the shoulder, and the shoulder is not the lane, I'd say there's no defined legality here.

When there is a bike lane it is obviously completely legal.  

Drivers rarely make a distinction.
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(07-21-2017, 04:38 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(07-21-2017, 04:26 PM)chutten Wrote: Boats require a pleasure craft operator's license which presumably would have to be revoked separately... but I don't know the law well enough to know where to look.

Pivoting to a cycling question: what's the legality of pedaling alongside a line of stopped cars (this is lane splitting/filtering, yes?) waiting for a light when there's no bike box at the intersection and no bike lane alongside? I'm pretty sure that's a "no", but I've seen it done often enough to wonder.

It isn't technically legal here (it is in the UK and in California, possibly other places).  But it's certainly common here for various reasons.

When there is a paved shoulder, this is a grey area, given that bikes are allowed to use the shoulder, and the shoulder is not the lane, I'd say there's no defined legality here.

When there is a bike lane it is obviously completely legal.  

Drivers rarely make a distinction.

Do you have a reference for this? I've never been able to find a section of the HTA that answers the question definitively.
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(07-21-2017, 04:26 PM)chutten Wrote: Pivoting to a cycling question: what's the legality of pedaling alongside a line of stopped cars (this is lane splitting/filtering, yes?) waiting for a light when there's no bike box at the intersection and no bike lane alongside? I'm pretty sure that's a "no", but I've seen it done often enough to wonder.

If there is a bike lane, you can go up to the front of the line. If there is no bike lane you have to stop behind the last car as if you were a car too. When I do this and I'm decelerating toward that last car, I check over my shoulder and if nobody is there, I move about a third over, sometimes in the centre. If there's a car right beside me decelerating at the same rate it gets a bit tricky, but it usually works out.

I've always found drivers exceptionally respectful for me when I do this, and have never had an issue. As we all accelerate together, once my speed peaks and the traffic starts moving faster, I of course move back over as far to the right as I can to let them go by.
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