On behalf of OGRA members, President Rick Harms sent the following letter regarding vaccine distribution to the Hon. Christine Elliott, Ontario’s Minister of Health.

Dear Minister Elliott:

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine marks a turning a point in the battle against this pandemic. Like many Ontarians, I am thrilled and frankly relieved to hear that it will become available to most Ontarians in the first half of 2021. I do not envy the difficulty and ethical maze that is in front of you as you design a plan to prioritize deployment of vaccines. In fact, my purpose in writing is to further complicate these deliberations.

To be clear, those Ontarians most at risk of dying from the virus should also be at the front of the vaccine line.

Similarly, those Ontarians that keep us safe should be prioritized. Frontline medical staff. Firefighters. Paramedics. Police. For these professions, response time is critical to efficacy.

As winter sets in across Ontario, I am deeply concerned that municipalities may have to close roadways because those charged with keeping them open and safe during the winter have fallen ill. If this happens, it directly undermines the efficacy of those men and women mentioned above, who we all count on to be there for us during an emergency.

OGRA has pushed its municipal members to tackle the risk of COVID head-on. We have collaborated with the private sector, insurers and other associations to raise awareness and provide best practices. Municipalities across Ontario have risen to this challenge. However, even these efforts cannot overcome the fact that for many municipalities, the risk of even one infection could result in the shuttering of public works departments.

I would respectfully and strongly urge you to consider prioritizing the men and women who are on the frontline of winter road maintenance in Ontario. Including this very small cohort of people in your prioritized vaccine distribution list will ensure that those we are relying on to get us through this pandemic are not undermined by something as foreseeable as snow in Ontario.

Keeping our roads safe and open depends on it.

Sincerely,

Rick Harms
President, Ontario Good Roads Association

On Monday, March 1, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced a pilot program to permit the use of larger cargo e-bikes.

Municipalities wishing to permit the use of cargo e-bikes can now do so by the enacting a bylaw. Many smaller cargo e-bikes currently meet Ontario’s definition for power-assisted bicycles (e-bikes). This pilot program is specifically for larger cargo e-bikes that do not currently meet the definition of e-bikes. The pilot program sets out specific vehicle and operator requirements. These are linked below.

Highlights of the program include:

As with regular bicycles or e-bikes, all Highway Traffic Act rules of the road apply to cargo e-bikes. Penalties will also apply to violations of the pilot regulation (fines of $250 to $2,500).
Cargo e-bikes are only permitted in those municipalities that pass by-laws to permit their use.
Cargo e-bike operators are required to report any collisions in which they are involved to police in order to allow enforcement to report collisions to the ministry.
Similar experiments in other jurisdictions have shown that cargo e-bikes are an innovative modality that efficiently facilitates less carbon-intensive movement of goods. These devices have proven to be a key component of right-sized fleets and an effective tool in addressing congestion.

OGRA supports this pilot project because it preserves the decision-making authority of municipal governments while also enabling private sector innovation.

For more information, you can review the regulatory changes at:

O. Reg. 141/21: PILOT PROJECT – CARGO POWER-ASSISTED BICYCLES
Cargo E-bike Pilot Program

For Municipal Guidelines on Cargo E-Bikes Click Here