Electric scooters are showing up in traffic lanes, on sidewalks, and in front of moving vehicles across Lloydminster. The city is now working on bylaw changes to address the behaviour.
The frustration is widespread. Residents have taken to social media in recent weeks with their own close calls. The public Facebook group “What’s happening in Lloydminster anything goes,” which has more than 8,400 members, has served as a focal point for the debate.
Deb Chapman described a girl coming off a bike trail and nearly striking a parked boat.
“I didn’t even see her and could have easily hit her,” Chapman wrote. “Her response was ‘oops!'”
Gaylene Herle echoed the concern, pointing to riders with no helmets, multiple riders on a single scooter, and little regard for traffic. Alicia Oliver noted the problem extends beyond e-scooters, with dirt bikes also appearing on sidewalks and roads.
“There have been a few times they came out of nowhere and it was a close call,” Oliver wrote.
The same thread included a report of a 12-year-old weaving through parked vehicles in a parking lot and striking a newly purchased truck. Ashley Grace, commenting on the incident, said the child could have used open areas nearby but chose to ride between parked cars instead.
“That’s fully on the kid and fully preventable,” Grace wrote.
Priscilla Fineday had a simpler question: “Where’s the bylaw officer now?”
Not everyone sees it the same way. James Lively acknowledged e-scooters are a nuisance but pushed back on what he called adults publicly shaming children.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” Lively wrote. “It’s a shame that the village would rather sit at home, inside, alone, passing judgement on these children rather than celebrating that the kids were outside, moving, playing, being together.”
Andrew DeGruchy, director of public safety, confirmed the City of Lloydminster is working to update its Traffic Bylaw to set standards for how e-scooters, e-bikes, and similar devices are used on pathways, roads, and sidewalks. The changes would target unsafe behaviour rather than restrict the devices outright.
“This municipal legislation would establish standards for the use of provincially approved devices, intended to address unsafe behaviour, such as speed, recklessness, and other disruptive issues,” said DeGruchy.
Public consultation will come before council considers the bylaw.
“This, along with many other aspects of the Traffic Bylaw, will receive extensive public consultation before being approved by Council,” said DeGruchy.
What the province controls
The regulation of electrically propelled devices sits primarily with the province, not the city. Under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act, personal e-scooters are classified as prohibited miniature vehicles. That means they cannot legally be ridden on public roads, sidewalks, or pathways.
Lloydminster operates under both Alberta and Saskatchewan law due to its unique bi-provincial status. Saskatchewan similarly restricts e-scooters on public roads unless municipalities opt in.
The city’s planned bylaw would govern user behaviour within that provincial framework. It would not determine which devices are permitted in the first place.
“The use of electrically propelled devices is governed jointly by provincial legislation and municipal bylaws,” said DeGruchy. “Advocacy is happening in several municipalities for the establishment of provincial standards, a matter that remains a provincial responsibility.”
What other Alberta communities have done
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, went the furthest of any Alberta municipality. Council passed Bylaw No. 25/020 earlier this year, banning e-scooters from all public spaces including sidewalks, trails, paths, and roads. Use is permitted only on private property. Fines of up to $500 may be issued, though bylaw services has committed to an education-first approach.
Calgary and Edmonton have taken a different path, permitting shared rental programs under special provincial exemptions. Edmonton banned e-scooters from sidewalks outright and doubled its sidewalk fine to $250 under a bylaw that came into effect in May 2025. Calgary allows shared rental scooters on bike lanes, pathways, and lower-traffic roads with a 20 km/h speed cap.
Personal e-scooters remain illegal on public land in both cities.
Alberta Municipalities and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta have both called on the province to develop consistent, province-wide rules. The province committed to sharing findings from an e-scooter pilot review in fall 2024. Those findings have not yet been publicly released.
Lloydminster RCMP have their own message for riders in the meantime.
“I recommend safety and respect of others be priorities,” said S/Sgt. Bruce MacLean. “Obey the rules of the road when operating on a street or public area with a bicycle of any kind and, when in public areas, be safe and respectful of others.”
Lloydminster’s proposed bylaw changes are expected to move toward public consultation in the coming months.
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