Image Credit: SUBMITTED: Pedego Electric Bikes

The Okanagan Rail Trail e-bike ban has been officially scrapped.

Politicians at the North Okanagan Regional District voted in favour of removing the ban at a meeting yesterday, June 15.

The move rubber-stamped an earlier recommendation put forward by the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee to remove the e-bike ban on Class 2 e-bikes.

Sheila Fraser, who owns Pedego Electric Bikes in Oyama, spearheaded the campaign to remove the ban.

"This is fantastic," Fraser said in a media release. "This is the right decision for an active transportation corridor like the Okanagan Rail Trail that connects communities together."

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Adorable rescued raccoon baby recovering at B.C. Wildlife Park in Kamloops

The controversy erupted earlier this year when signs popped up along the trail advising the public that Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes weren't allowed on the North Okanagan part of the rail trail.

The bylaw had been passed in 2021 when the regional district followed what provincial parks had done. That policy outlaws certain e-bikes which have throttles as well as a pedal-assist mode.

Fraser had said many of her senior and less-abled clientele need the throttle for longer rides or just to help them start from a stop.

Fraser had called the ban "discrimination."

The e-bike shop owner started her campaign with a petition that quickly gained 4,200 signatures. She later made a presentation at the regional district board.

While the e-bike ban is no longer in effect, Fraser is still committed to educating riders that use the trail.

"We’ve heard from a lot of passionate bike riders over the past several weeks and we’ve learned that we could all use a little more education and etiquette when we’re out on our bikes – whether they are electric or regular," she said. "So, we are taking this valuable lesson to heart and doing something about it."

Pedego Oyama is launching an introduction event called the EEEs of Cycling – education, etiquette and e-bikes.

The first session is fully booked, but if the demand is there more sessions will be offered.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022