Little Rock delays move on scooter rules.

More concerns to consider for ordinance, director says

The Little Rock City Board of Directors on Tuesday voted to defer for two weeks a decision on a proposed ordinance adjusting the rules of the road for the dockless electric scooters that have proliferated downtown.

The green scooters from transportation-technology company Lime returned to Little Rock streets over the summer after they were removed in March amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Lime scooters arrived in Little Rock in January 2019.

Riders unlock the scooters using a mobile app and can step off when their trip is complete, leaving the scooter behind at their destination.

The most significant effect of the proposed ordinance would be to reverse the city code’s framework about where electric scooters can be ridden.

At the moment, riders must stay on the sidewalk and cannot travel in the street. The proposed ordinance would mandate that scooter riders travel in the street and avoid the sidewalk with some exceptions for areas designated by the mayor and identified as such with signs.

Additionally, the draft ordinance states that scooters must remain in a bicycle lane whenever a lane is available.

City directors deferred action on the proposed ordinance at the urging of Ward 3 City Director Kathy Webb, who said she had received a lot of complaints about the scooters.

“I don’t know that we have every single thing in this ordinance that we can have,” Webb said.

Earlier during the meeting, Ward 5 City Director Lance Hines asked City Attorney Tom Carpenter whether the Little Rock Police Department would serve as the enforcement mechanism.

“I think so,” Carpenter said. He added that he thought the most serious violation would be riders without a helmet. The proposed ordinance states that riders younger than 16 must wear a helmet and rely on an adult to authorize the rental of the scooter.

“The biggest issue I’ve heard on them is operating them on sidewalks and pedestrian collisions, so that’s definitely something [that] needs to be enforced,” Hines said.

Hines also asked Carpenter to clarify whether operators of scooters, like bicycle riders, can be cited for driving under the influence pursuant to Arkansas state law. That was his understanding, Carpenter replied.

“There was some conjecture about that … somebody was talking about how people were operating them that probably weren’t exactly sober downtown, and so I just want everybody to be aware that if there is a collision with a pedestrian, the same rules would apply if you’re on a bicycle, [or] a riding lawnmower,” Hines said.

An Arkansas law which went into effect in July 2019 allowed electric-scooter companies to operate in cities statewide, but it provided municipalities the ability to regulate them.

At-large City Director Joan Adcock expressed concerns about parked scooters blocking sidewalks and other accessibility issues.

In attendance at the meeting via teleconference was Lime’s director of government relations, Nico Probst, who in response to Adcock’s concerns said the company’s team is sent out immediately when a complaint is received about a specific device. Issues are typically resolved within about 30 minutes, Probst said.

If the company is fortunate enough to continue operating in the city, Probst said, Lime plans to set designated parking locations in the city to create “more of a habitual parking environment.”

In response to a question from Ward 2 City Director Ken Richardson regarding expansion to other areas of the city, Probst said Lime plans to apply for “a pretty decent amount” of vehicles and spread to other locations beyond the specific neighborhoods where the scooters are concentrated.