VIDEO: Cane-swinging pedestrian wants e-scooters, bikes off Surrey sidewalks
Published 1:50 pm Thursday, September 24, 2026
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Tired of scooter and bike riders crowding his space on sidewalks, Robert “Bob Dog” Stierle urges police and government to enforce rules of the road before he gets seriously hurt, or worse.
The Guildford resident, 65, doesn’t own a vehicle, has mobility issues and walks everywhere.
Surrey sidewalks are no longer safe, he says, as pedestrians face “high-speed traffic, collisions and physical threats from illegal e-scooters, motorbikes and bicycles on pedestrian walkways.”
Electric scooters aren’t allowed on public property in Surrey, including roads, bike lanes and sidewalks, but that doesn’t seem to stop riders from zooming by Stierle when he’s out for a walk.
“I’ve been injured and threatened so many times, more than once a day,” he said. “I confront them, yeah, and have to defend myself with my cane. After being assaulted, insulted and sworn at, I’m tired of it. It’s a bad situation.”
VIDEO: Cane-swinging pedestrian Robert “Bob Dog” Stierle wants e-scooters and bikes off Surrey sidewalks, which he says are no longer safe to walk.
STORY: https://t.co/w97zXzNo5i via @SurreyNowLeader and @BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/hyPMrKJeKx
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) September 24, 2026
Pushing for action, Stierle launched a petition to Take Back Our Sidewalks on change.org and wrote the Now-Leader about the dangers of vehicles on sidewalks.
On social media, both Surrey Police and City of Surrey recently reminded e-scooter riders that such vehicles are allowed on private property only in Surrey, not roads or sidewalks, and riders must be 16 years of age under provincial law.
“Banning them is not the answer but educating them is,” one person commented. “Protecting them is the answer, treat them as a bike and let them use the bike lane. Fine whoever doesn’t follow rules.”
At a Sept. 21 meeting, Surrey Councillor Rob Stutt urged the provincial government to develop a comprehensive plan to regulate e-scooters B.C.-wide, saying safety concerns are “considerable” and need to be addressed.
Meantime, Guildford Park Secondary principal Marti Player reminds families that Surrey Schools does not permit the use or storage of e-scooters on school property.
When the Now-Leader went to interview Stierle in Guildford on Sept. 17, he swung his cane at an e-scooter rider who crossed his path on a crosswalk, and doesn’t apologize for such confrontations.
“It is entirely unacceptable that I must navigate my own city in constant fear of injury or physical retaliation,” he says.
“I want this to be an election issue.”
Stierle says Surrey council needs to co-ordinate “a sustained, high-visibility enforcement initiative between Surrey Bylaw Enforcement and police services to strictly penalize violators, restore public safety and protect pedestrian rights” in the city.
—with file from Tom Zytaruk