In My Opinion: Why Does Cobourg Have to Wait to Enforce the Law?

Pete Fisher
1 hour ago
• Categories: Editorial, Local

The picture tells the entire story.

And perhaps more importantly, it raises a whole lot of questions.

There it was Monday afternoon — August 31, 2026 — right in front of Victoria Hall.

A person standing on an e-scooter was stopped in a live lane of traffic on King Street, directly behind a Cobourg police cruiser.

The light was red. Traffic was waiting.

And so was the e-scooter.

It is one of those photographs that doesn’t need much explanation.

It simply begs the question:

Why is this happening?

Today’s Northumberland has been reporting on Cobourg’s growing e-scooter problem for months.

It has become increasingly difficult to ignore.

And now Cobourg Council has decided it wants to study the issue and consider whether the municipality should participate in Ontario’s e-scooter pilot program.

That’s fine.

Council can study it.

Council can debate it.

Council can ultimately decide whether Cobourg wants to participate.

But there is a very important point getting lost in all of this.

The Town doesn’t get to put the law on hold while it makes up its mind.

Ontario’s e-scooter pilot program is governed under the Highway Traffic Act. The provincial regulation says an e-scooter cannot be operated on a highway, sidewalk, trail, path, walkway or public park unless it is permitted under the provincial regulation and, where the area is under municipal jurisdiction, permitted by municipal bylaw.

Ontario’s own guidance is even clearer: municipalities that want e-scooters operating on their roads must pass a bylaw allowing them and confirm their participation in the provincial pilot.

So if Cobourg has not done that, why are we seeing e-scooters operating openly on our streets?

And more importantly — why does it appear that enforcement is not happening?

That’s the question Council and the Cobourg Police Service need to answer.

Laws are not suggestions.

They are not optional.

And they certainly shouldn’t depend on whether a municipality has decided it likes the law.

If the Town eventually decides to participate in the provincial pilot, then that’s a different story.

But until then, there should not be a grey area where some people follow the rules while others simply carry on as if the rules don’t exist.

And let’s be honest — it isn’t just one person riding an e-scooter properly down the road.

We’ve seen riders on sidewalks.

We’ve seen two people riding on one scooter.

We’ve seen scooters that appear to have been modified.

We’ve seen scooters with seats — something specifically prohibited under Ontario’s pilot requirements. Riders are also required to stand, passengers are prohibited, and riders under 18 must wear a bicycle helmet.

It starts to look less like transportation and more like the wild west on our streets and sidewalks.

And those aren’t my words.

That description was used at Council.

There is a reason rules exist.

There is a reason vehicles have regulations.

There is a reason pedestrians, cyclists and motorists are expected to follow them.

Public safety.

And Cobourg isn’t the only municipality dealing with this issue.

Look at Toronto.

Toronto Police wrapped up a two-week city-wide micromobility enforcement and education campaign on Monday.

From August 10 to August 24, officers issued 324 tickets and warnings involving micromobility devices. Police said enforcement was used when officers observed more serious public safety concerns, including illegal sidewalk riding and other unsafe behaviour.

And Toronto Police made another point that should get the attention of Cobourg officials:

E-scooters are not permitted to be operated in any public space in Toronto.

Yet Toronto police are still enforcing the rules.

They aren’t waiting around for someone to decide whether the rules should apply.

They are enforcing them.

Toronto Police put it plainly: while the campaign emphasized education, officers will continue enforcing micromobility offences across the city.

So again, the question for Cobourg is simple.

Why are we waiting?

Why does Council need a study before the existing rules are enforced?

Why should residents have to wonder whether the rules apply to everyone?

Why should motorists have to share a traffic lane with an e-scooter when the municipality hasn’t even decided whether it wants to participate in the provincial program?

And why was this particular photograph taken directly in front of Town Hall?

You couldn’t stage it if you tried.

A police cruiser.

An e-scooter.

A live lane of traffic.

And Town Hall sitting right behind them.

The irony is almost too perfect.

If Council wants to study e-scooters, study them.

If Council wants to join the provincial pilot, make that decision.

If Council wants to establish rules for where and how they can be used, then do it.

But until that happens, enforce the rules that already exist.

Because this isn’t simply about e-scooters.

It’s about the principle behind every law in this community.

If a law exists, people should be expected to follow it.

And if it isn’t going to be enforced, then what exactly is the point of having it?

Cobourg doesn’t need to wait until 2029 to figure out whether public safety matters.

It matters today.

And on Monday, August 31, right in front of Town Hall, one photograph captured the entire problem.

The law may be clear.

The message being sent on our streets isn’t.