The City of Calgary is making sidewalks more accessible for Calgarians by creating e-Scooter corrals designed to clear clutter.
Feedback from users and non-users over the past few years inspired the plan to develop the sleek, artistic and functional parking stalls, says Andrew Sedor, Mobility Initiative Lead with the City of Calgary.
“A common concern is that shared e-Scooters are parked haphazardly in busy pedestrian areas,” says Sedor. “We are using a multitude of tools to help address this issue. One of the tools we are trialing on 17th Avenue S.W. is the use of e-Scooter corrals along with geofencing parking locations in the area.”
Geofencing technology
For 17th Avenue S.W. between 4th and 8th Street S.W., the parking spots for e-Scooters are geofenced, meaning vehicles can only be parked in the designated zones. The corrals highlight where these geofenced zones are.
“The corrals are funded through fees The City collects from the e-Scooter companies, and if the corrals are shown to be successful on 17th Ave SW, we will be expanding them to other busy areas of the city,” says Sedor.
The corrals were designed and built in house by Fleet and Inventory, and the Mobility Operations Sign Shop. The corrals blend form, function and feature artwork from Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts).
“These corrals are a brand-new project and this is our very first prototype,” says Corny Teichroeb, Estimator/Work Planner for Fleet and Inventory. “It was designed by our engineering group and manufactured in-house. They are assembled like an IKEA set which eliminates the need for a welder onsite and makes it easier to ship, assemble and store.”
Vitalie Boxaneanu, Maintenance Engineer with Fleet and Inventory, designed the product with an eye on creating something lightweight with few components. He sketched out a rough draft on paper before creating a digital 3D model.
“I wanted it to be inexpensive, efficient and easy to replicate,” says Boxaneanu, who is pleased with the outcome and is looking forward to seeing them utilized.
“As a designer a big achievement is taking it from a problem we are trying solve to a solution on paper to an electronic version to seeing it functioning in real life.”
Where to park?
· Shared e-Scooters can only be parked in designated parking areas on 17th Ave. S.W. between 4th and 8th Street S.W. Please park and walk if your destination is 17th Avenue.
· Shared e-Scooters cannot be ridden on 17th Ave SW between 4th and 8th Street S.W. Please use adjacent streets and avenues to commute.
Artwork that’s functional and beautiful
Calgarian Hal Hayes is part of a group of artists whose work appears on the corrals. In 2023, The City of Calgary engaged AUArts to beautify 100 patio side barriers that provide safety protection infrastructure in restaurant patio spaces. AUArts put out a call for submissions and selected six alumni who graduated in 2021 or 2022 to create digital murals that could be printed on vinyl wraps of the concrete side barriers.
This year, the City of Calgary asked if the artwork could be resized as a vinyl wrap for the new e-Scooter corrals.
Creating art has been his passion since he was three years old, and Hayes will always remember the first time he spotted his artwork in the wild.
“It was a beautiful summer night and I had just returned to Calgary from vacation and was driving downtown, thinking about how great it was to be home and my artwork jumped out at me. I hit the blinker, then the brakes, jumped out my car and sprinted across the road. It was incredible to see and I felt so proud. I sent photos to my mom and dad and family and friends and posted them to socials and it blew up. Art is my passion and I am so grateful to this city for allowing me to be part of such a cool project.”
Hayes believes the artwork will act like a spotlight, beaming onto the corrals enticing riders to use them and park the devices properly.
“These corrals are a fusion of function and character and the art will be like a beam of light to draw people in,” he said.
Micromobility in Calgary
Shared e-Scooters and e-Bikes are a great way to make your way throughout the city.
Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility are the two vendors chosen in 2021 for a five-year contract to provide e-scooters and e-bikes.
You can ride a shared e-Scooter city-wide on bicycle lanes, pathways, empty sidewalks and roadways with lower speed limits and lower traffic volumes (like 13 Avenue S.W.). E-Scooters are not permitted on busier roadways like Macleod Trail.
Shared e-Bikes are permitted everywhere regular bikes can be used and must follow the same rules that apply to bikes. See cycling bylaws and safety tips for details.
