It’s being called Project Vigilance and it’s centred around ensuring traffic safety for drivers, cyclists, and riders as the weather gets worse and days get shorter.

A core part of the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) newest project focuses on e-scooter riders.

Since the weekend, there’s been more police stationed downtown, making sure these riders are following the rules.

Donaldson “In the first two days of the project, they handed out 100 tickets. Most of those tickets were for not wearing helmets. The second most-common offence was for riding on the sidewalk,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson with the VPD. 

Donaldson with the VPD says back in September, the police force did a project raising awareness about e-scooter regulations.

Most offenders got away with a warning then, but this time that’s changed. 

“This portion of the project, it’s all going to be about enforcement. So, there’s going to be fewer warnings going out and more tickets,” said Donaldson.

Riders without a helmet, going on the sidewalk, speeding above the allowed 25 km/hour range or splitting lanes can all expect a ticket if stopped by police.

Even with all this increased enforcement, though, Donaldson says the police department understands how necessary this mode of transportation is for some in the city.

And, Haakin Koyote with Vision Zero agrees, saying e-scooters aren’t going away anytime soon.

“They are new, but we have to figure out how to accommodate them. The cat’s out of the bag with this one. We can’t –we’re not putting e-scooters away,” said Koyote.

But on top of enforcing the rules, Koyote says making it truly safe for riders and drivers will take infrastructure improvements like bike lanes across the Lower Mainland.

That, he says, will give riders a designated space to go that’s not the sidewalk or the street.