City kicks scooters off busy sidewalks
Safety on streets, rental relocation raise concerns
Houston has scuttled scooter rentals along city sidewalks, and kicked riders of the two-wheel transports in busy areas to the street.
City Council on Wednesday approved changes to Houston’s codes outlawing any rental activity that impedes public sidewalks or blocks a city-controlled parking spot, a move aimed at eliminating businesses that use temporary trailers and the public walkway to offer rental scooters. The businesses have grown in popularity, but critics complain they block sidewalks and encourage novice riders to rocket along crowded sidewalks.
“They ride them recklessly, they don’t have helmets on,” District G Councilman Greg Travis said. “It is a disaster.”
In addition to banning scooter rental companies, the council revised existing rules to outlaw scooter use on sidewalks in a business district, effectively moving them off walkways in downtown, Uptown and the Texas Medical Center.
Scooter rental companies earlier this month complained they are being singled out for offering a popular activity where customers want them. Forcing them onto private property, such as parking lots, or to permanent locations limits where people can find and use the rentals, the owners say.
Users also lamented the plan, saying it was curbing a fun family activity at a time when more people are venturing outdoors.
“You would think they would want people to spend more time in parks, not less,” said Rachel Vaughn, 33, as she watched her two preteen sons dart around downtown streets by scooter earlier this month.
Though they approved the measure,
council members said shifting the scooters to the streets comes with its own challenges. Pedestrians will not have to share space with the motorized two-wheelers but scooter users now must contend with vehicle traffic.
The scooter rules are identical to those for bicycles, which also are banned from sidewalks in business districts.
Despite the need to ensure safety, some observers lamented the council’s actions limited mobility but did not improve the on-street conditions that make some of those interactions calamitous.
“A truly pro-business city might see this as not just an opportunity, but a duty to build safe rights-ofway on our downtown streets so people can get around efficiently, and to create an environment that supports entrepreneurship,” said Joe Cutrufo, executive director of the advocacy group BikeHouston.
District I Councilman Robert Gallegos said he will discuss additional safety needs in an upcoming Quality of Life Committee meeting, “so we can do what we can to keep (scooter users) safe, as well.”
Advocates said those discussions should include the addition of amenities, including dedicated bikes lanes similar to those along Lamar, Austin and Gray in downtown and Hardy and Elysian north of the central business district.
“They don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Cutrufo said. “We already have examples of what we need on Austin and Lamar.”
Critics of the scooters said they expect more regulations, especially if the popularity of the vehicles spreads.
“The best thing we can hope for is scooters don’t catch on,” Travis said.