Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Queen’s park dangers
E-scooters banned from royal landmarks amid safety fears
E-SCOOTERS are to be banned from London’s Royal Parks, despite pleas from environment campaigners.
The charity that runs the eight parks made the decision due to safety fears.
More than 50 towns and cities in England are running rental e-scooter trials. It is illegal to ride private devices on public roads and pavements.
Trials began in
London in June, but riders have not been allowed to enter the city’s most famous green spaces, including Hyde Park, Green Park, and Kensington Gardens.
This week The Royal Parks charity – which is headed by Prince Charles – confirmed its ban on the devices, which have a top speed of up to 12.5mph.
In response to a Freedom of Information request, it said: “The Royal Parks is not considering any e-scooter trials in any of its parks.” On its website, it added: “The parks are principally places for quiet recreation where pedestrians have priority. We believe the speed and stealth of the scooters presents an unacceptable risk to pedestrians, particularly those with mobility challenges, or with a visual or hearing impairment.”
The scooters are popular in many foreign cities such as Lisbon and Berlin.
But the National Federation of the Blind has called on the Government to halt the national trials. Researchers have also predicted e-scooters could be involved in up to 200,000 accidents by the end of the year.
At least six people are thought to have been killed while using e-scooters in Britain. YouTuber and TV host Emily Hartridge was the first rider to die, in July 2019.
Speed and stealth of e-scooters is a risk to pedestrians THE ROYAL PARKS ON WHY IT’S BANNED TRIALS