Seaside town bans scooters

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea wrestles with national scooter craze.

FORT LAUDERDALE – Electric scooters might be all the rage in Fort Lauderdale right now, but they’re not welcome next door.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is making it clear: Keep your scooters out of our town.

“They’re going to cause a problem for drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians and themselves,” town Commissioner Elliot Sokolow said. “They’re just inherently dangerous.”

The spread of electric scooter sharing has put users and critics at odds — not only in Fort Lauderdale, but across the country.

Fans say the scooters are an affordable, environmentally friendly — and fun — way to get around. But critics say the scooters add another dangerous hazard to roads as riders zig zag along sidewalks.

Complaints include riders who don’t follow rules or wear helmets; intoxicated riders; scooters zipping down sidewalks too fast; children operating the scooters; and two people riding the same scooter.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea wants no part of the controversy. Signs at the town’s entrances warn “STOP. No electric scooter zone.”

Town officials confiscate scooters that are left on the streets and sidewalks of the seaside burg. Police officers who see scooter riders are warning them to beat it.

At the town’s Jan. 8 meeting, Town Manager Bud Bentley said the companies will be charged a fee to retrieve the scooters.

“Currently, we probably have 10 or 14 in the garage waiting for pickup,” he said. The town has seen fewer of them since asking the scooter companies to perfect the “geo-

fences” that disable scooters outside Fort Lauderdale city limits, town officials said.

Mayor Chris Vincent said the town is just enforcing the state laws on the books, which don’t allow the scooters on streets. Cities can allow them on sidewalks by passing a law, as Fort Lauderdale did.

“All we’re doing is enforcing what the current law is,” Vincent said.

Fort Lauderdale is the only Broward city to pass a law legalizing the dockless electric scooters on sidewalks. Customers, age 18 or older, use a smartphone app to locate and activate a scooter.

The age rule is basically on the honor system. When riders sign user agreements, they are confirming that they are old enough to rent the vehicles, a Lime spokesman said.

Lime, Bird and Bolt are operating scooters in Fort Lauderdale. But city officials will revisit the temporary and controversial program in February.

With a Lime-S scooter, customers pay $1 to unlock it and 15 cents for each minute of use. A half-hour ride costs about $7.50. They go up to

15 miles an hour and run on a

250-watt motor.

Staff photographer Joe Cavaretta and staff writer Tonya Alanez contributed to this report.