Oakland officials propose ordinance Wo reJXlaWe sKared scooWers
8S$ 7ake a walk around /ake 0erritt or through a neighborhood on a sunny afternoon and you¶re likely to see seYeral people cruis ing around on %ird and /ime electric scooters, which are rented through an app and can be ridden around the city. %ut take a walk down any busy 2akland sidewalk, and you¶re also likely to see un superYised scooters piled up outside restaurants or at street corners, sometimes blocking wheelchairs and pedestrians. :hile these scooter share programs may be great for the enYironment and fun for some, some 2akland council members want to regulate po tential problems with them. 8nder the proposed ordi nance by council members 5ebecca .aplan, /ynette *ibson 0c(lhaney and 1oel *allo, companies would be reTuired to use designated locations for dockless scoot ers, hire maintenance staff, proYide discounted member ship for low income resi dents and keep ³no less than
percent´ of scooters in 2akland¶s ³communities of concern,´ according to the ordinance.
³Some cities are trying to ban them, some cities just let them come in with no rules or regulations at all, and , really felt like, you know, we can do better than that,´ .aplan said in a )riday afternoon phone interYiew. ³$s much as , don¶t want the scoot ers to be hurting people, , also don¶t want them to be banned.´ .aplan, who has a background in transportation, said one of the most impor tant goals of the ordinance is to make sure the scooters are accessible to lower income neighborhoods, which she said ³haYe historically been underserYed.´
³%oth lower income neigh borhoods and neighborhoods that haYe a higher ratio of $frican $mericans and /a tinos haYe historically been underserYed in a whole range of areas,´ she said. $s the scooters rapidly gain popu larity, .aplan hopes to make them more accessible to all communities, particularly for those who may not haYe a car or liYe near a %$57 station. $sk an 2akland resident or Yisitor what they think of the scooters and you¶re likely to get eYerything from looks of disgust and frustration to wide grins and people sing ing the scooters¶ praise. ³, hate them,´ said %rian 7aylor, as he kicked a /ime scooter out of his way as it sat at the edge of a crosswalk between *rand $Yenue and 3erkins Street. ³3eople leaYe them helter skelter eYery where, making them danger ous for people on foot.´ +isham $libob, another 2ak land resident, said he sees the scooters as both a practi cal mode of transportation as well as a fun actiYity.
(East Bay Times)