Barring e-scooters from city sidewalks, recommended by a city committee on Monday, would make it impossible to introduce the concept to Toronto, according to the CEO of Bird Canada, an e-scooter company hoping to launch here in the spring of 2020.“If you can’t park them on the sidewalk and you can’t park them on the street, I guess we’re parking them in the air?” said Stewart Lyons. “I don’t know where we’re parking them. They can’t fly.”Lyons was speaking after the city’s infrastructure and environment committee passed a motion that would temporarily prevent e-scooters from occupying sidewalks — at least until city staff can come up with a better plan, expected later this year.Lyons said being able to park e-scooters on some sidewalks is a key part of the e-scooter program.He said it would be hard to create enough demand if the scooters can’t be made available to customers right where they live and work, arguing that docking stations, such as those used by the current Bike Share Toronto program, wouldn’t be accessible enough. Currently, users in cities where shared e-scooter programs are in place can locate scooters near them using an app. Mayor John Tory said he supports the motion, saying it’s meant to preserve the status quo, so Toronto doesn’t have an uncontrolled and undisciplined item of e-scooters into the market.Tory said he is concerned about the safety of scooter use and clutter they may create, adding Toronto has many narrow sidewalks and the city must be careful with regulations controlling their use.The mayor said he has seen scooters littering sidewalks in Austin, Texas, and has asked mayors from other cities about their experiences with the dockless devices.“They described it all the way from successful to others who would describe it ... as a gong show,” Tory said. “We don’t want any gong shows in Toronto, we don’t want p ...
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