[NFBSea] Fw: Article on Scooters from Atlanta Journal-Constitution News Section 2019 09 01

[Nightingale, Noel]

AJC CONTINUING COVERAGE ELECTRIC SCOOTERS Scooter debate pits freedom vs.
safety Atlanta and other major metro areas are struggling to regulate the
scooter revolution, even as fatal accidents mount. BY: Stephen Deere Staff
Thousands of electric scooters appeared on sidewalks and street corners
almost overnight. In clogged neighborhoods -- including Atlanta's downtown,
Midtown and Buckhead--they offer a cheap alternative form of transport that
can be faster and less frustrating than walking or driving. Urban planners
hail the devices as a potential solution to smog and gridlock, while some
pedestrians deride them as a public nuisance. How cities have responded to
the sudden emergence of scooters has become a test of government creativity
and competence. The results have been mixed, at best. "I don't think anybody
in the nation has seen what a truly successful scooter program looks like,"
said Jason Redfern, parking enterprise manager for Austin, Texas. In
Atlanta, a city known for streetscapes that cater to automobiles over all
other forms of transportation, establishing appropriate guidelines for
scooters is a task that continues vexing public officials. "We have a lot to
do," said City Planning Commissioner Tim Keane. "Atlanta, arguably more than
any city in America, because we have so phenomenally designed our streets
for one thing -- I mean every inch of our streets. Big streets.
Little streets. It's incredible. Three people have died in scooter accidents
on Atlanta streets since May, and a fourth person was killed just outside
the city limits in East Point. Metro Atlanta now leads the nation in
scooter-related fatalities, according to available data. Atlanta Mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms has promised a new plan to help better integrate
scooters into the city's transportation system while the City Council holds
town hall meetings and debates new regulations. But the ongoing experiment
caused by scooters popping up in cities across the nation already provides
plenty of ideas for what works. And what doesn't. There have been pilot
programs and studies; technology to track scooter use; and mandates to
deploy scooters in a way that supports public transit. Whether cities
embrace the technology or ban it seems to depend largely on population size
and density. Urban areas have become increasingly popular places to live,
and their resurgence has come with a price -- more cars, bottlenecked roads
and air pollution. Most expect those problems to get worse, which could
force city planners to consider the potential of scooters to help end a
reliance on cars. Atlanta responds slowly Electric scooters are two-wheeled
devices, rented for short periods of time from a smart phone application.
They are generally used for short trips that are too long for a walk and too
short for a drive. Maximum speed varies, but is typically about 15 miles per
hour. In the spring of 2018, fleets of electric scooters appeared in major
urban centers throughout the country. Atlanta officials can't say with any
degree of certainty exactly how many first appeared on Atlanta streets when
Bird deployed the initial batch. Within a couple of months, the fleet
expanded when Lime parked their own models on Atlanta's sidewalks. It was
the same story pretty much everywhere. "They were dropped off in the dead of
night," said Redfern, of Austin. Cities from Boston to San Francisco
initially banned scooters, only to allow them back after establishing
guidelines that severely restricted their numbers. Austin also instituted a
temporary ban, but then established a permitting program that was more
permissive in the number of scooters allowed to operate in the city. Atlanta
responded more slowly. The City Council began discussing regulations in July
2018, just two months after the scooters first emerged.
But those discussions dragged on for months. By the time the City Council
passed regulations in January, there were thousands of rentable scooters
zipping through streets and littering sidewalks. Atlanta eventually
permitted nine companies to provide more than 12,000 scooters combined. The
companies say only 5,500 are actually out on city streets. But City Council
President Felicia Moore says she's not sure that count is accurate because
the information is self-reported monthly by the companies. "Nobody has any
way to actually count them," Moore said. Scooters on sidewalks Austin took a
different approach -- requiring companies to obtain permits for individual
scooters deployed, which allows the city to more closely track their numbers
at any given time. Denver also had companies supply a list of vehicle
identification numbers for each scooter in their fleets, and mandated that
they provide real time data and monthly reports on crashes, average trip
distances, complaints and maintenance. At least 15 large cities permit
scooters on the sidewalks, including Chicago, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale,
Detroit and St. Louis. Denver's guidelines define them as toys, and
initially required that they be ridden on sidewalks. But Denver City Council
last week voted to ban them from sidewalks unless they were traveling at 6
mph or slower. In Oregon and California, the question had already been
decided by state laws that ban them from pedestrian paths.
Atlanta's ordinance also bans scooters from sidewalks, but that provision is
largely ignored. Police didn't begin enforcing Atlanta's sidewalk ban until
June, shortly after the city saw its first scooter death. Two more people
died the next month -- most recently 37-year-old Amber Ford, a mother of
two. Ford's husband, Justin, told the AJC that the couple was shooed off of
sidewalks by pedestrians as they rode scooters earlier in the day. "We were
getting fussed at for being on the sidewalk, so we moved into the street,"
Ford said. The concern about having scooters on sidewalks stems from how
quickly and quietly they pass by pedestrians. With scooters moving at up to
15 mph, a pedestrian making an unexpected turn into a shop could result in a
collision, said Sally Flocks, president and chief executive officer of PEDS,
an Atlanta-based pedestrian advocacy group. "You can't mix pedestrians and
scooters at the speed the scooters are moving,"
Flocks said. An Atlanta Police Department spokesman said the department
hadn't issued any official directive to stop enforcing the sidewalk ban in
response to the deaths. "The mode we're in right now is educational,
largely," police spokesman Carlos Campos said. Andre Dickens, chair of the
City Council's Transportation Committee, said he isn't sure how the sidewalk
provision made it into the scooter ordinance. But Dickens said it may be
time to consider reversing it. After Ford's death, Bottoms prohibited
rentable scooter use between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. 'A perfect strike' The sight
of half a dozen scooters laying on their sides and littering sidewalks has
become a everyday occurrence across the city. The slightest bump can knock
them over like dominoes, creating widespread tripping hazards. John
Plantaseed, who uses a wheelchair, told the City Council that scooters have
been violating the Americans With Disabilities Act "since Day 1. "Every time
I go somewhere, there's scooters blocking the sidewalks," Plantaseed said.
"Now I just run them over (in his wheelchair).
I made a perfect strike on Saturday. There was eight of them lined up on the
sidewalk in Little Five Points. I took all eight of them out. Like Atlanta,
San Francisco suddenly had scooters plopped down on its streets.
The city received countless complaints about blocked sidewalks. As part of
its scooter program, San Francisco made the companies equip their fleets
with locks so that the devices can be secured to racks and kept upright when
not in use. City officials said the number of complaints dropped
significantly afterward. The locks have "proven to be one of the most
successful aspects of our program," said Erica Kato, a spokeswoman for the
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. In Denver, companies must
paint designated parking zones and ensure scooters are parked at transit
hubs during the day. Crashes tied to serious injury Scooters haven't existed
long enough to be subjected to rigorous scientific scrutiny. But two early
studies found that crashes usually result in serious injury, and that there
isn't sufficient evidence that the devices reduce traffic congestion. In
Austin, the city asked the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control to
perform a first-of-its-kind study of scooter injuries just five months after
the devices appeared on streets there. Half of the injuries in Austin were
classified as "severe," defined as bone fractures, severe bleeding, organ
injuries, a hospital stay of more than 48 hours and nerve, tendon or
ligament damage. About half of those accidents involved head injuries and
almost none of the riders wore helmets. All of those statistics likely
minimize the number of people hurt while riding, the study says. "This study
was limited to investigating only those injured riders and non-riders who
sought care at a hospital emergency department or had care provided by
emergency medical services," the study says. "The number and characteristics
of injured riders seeking medical care at an urgent care center or
physician's office were not determined. Often a single statistic is used to
justify enthusiasm for scooters: one-third of all rides replace a car trip.
But the statistic is based on a survey of only 4,500 people in Portland,
Oregon. That study also found other factors might offset scooters' purported
contribution to reducing congestion:
Forty-two percent said their most recent scooter trips replaced lower
emission transport such as walking or biking; and private contractors who
collected the devices in their cars or trucks to charge them overnight added
to traffic. "The extent and overall impact to the transportation system and
traffic congestion is unknown," the study concluded. Atlanta to create
dedicated lanes As Atlanta struggles to adopt a new form of mobility because
of its potential to reduce traffic, several suburban communities are waiting
to see how the issue plays out -- or have already ruled out having the
devices altogether. Scooters are banned in Marietta, Nor-cross, Smyrna and
Woodstock. Tucker, Snellville and Lilburn have instituted temporary bans
while they decide what to do. Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon said he first saw
scooters in action when he attended a conference in Denver this June. He
said downtown Denver is well-equipped for the devices, with wide sidewalks
and plenty of bike lanes. Still, Bacon said he saw them "weaving in and out
of people. "I came out of the hotel one morning and two guys came by me, and
I mean they were flying," Bacon said. "They're an eyesore if they're not
maintained, and you'll continue to see lives lost because of them. I'd just
as soon not deal with them. Atlanta has no intention of instituting a ban.
Bottoms has said she thinks scooters can be an important factor in the city
reducing traffic congestion. While the Bottoms'
administration hasn't yet unveiled its plan, officials have promised to
erect temporary barriers to dedicate lanes to scooters, bikes and e-bikes.
That would be good news to Kimia Nezafat. The 23-year-old Woodstock resident
took a recent ride on the Beltline from Ponce City Market to a nearby
restaurant. "I think it's kind of scary that we can share a lane with a
car," Nezafat said. "It's not OK. Reporter J.D.Capelouto contributed to this
story. (Box) WHY REGULATING SCOOTER USE MATTERS The electric scooter
phenomenon has baffled public officials throughout the nation.
Scooters offer a potential solution to gridlock and pollution in densely
populated cities. Yet cities aren't designed to accommodate them because of
crowded sidewalks and a lack of dedicated lanes. But urban planners believe
the devices can enhance the use of public transportation with the right
regulations and conditions. More inside: One day in Atlanta through the eyes
of scooter riders such as Christina Sanchez (right) and what the revolution
in urban transportation has meant to them. Page A11 'Every time I go
somewhere, there's scooters blocking the sidewalks. Now I just run them over
(in his wheelchair). I made a perfect strike on Saturday. There was eight of
them lined up on the sidewalk in Little Five Points. I took all eight of
them out. John Plantaseed Addressing Atlanta City Council ME:
WHY REGULATING SCOOTER USE MATTERS The electric scooter phenomenon has
baffled public officials throughout the nation. Scooters offer a potential
solution to gridlock and pollution in densely populated cities. Yet cities
aren't designed to accommodate them because of crowded sidewalks and a lack
of dedicated lanes. But urban planners believe the devices can enhance the
use of public transportation with the right regulations and conditions.
More inside: One day in Atlanta through the eyes of scooter riders such as
Christina Sanchez (right) and what the revolution in urban transportation
has meant to them. Page A11 'Every time I go somewhere, there's scooters
blocking the sidewalks. Now I just run them over (in his wheelchair). I made
a perfect strike on Saturday. There was eight of them lined up on the
sidewalk in Little Five Points. I took all eight of them out. John
Plantaseed Addressing Atlanta City Council TY: KW:

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