Monday night, city council unanimously approved a new ordinance that will regulate the return of e-scooter rentals. This time around, however, they’ll be distributed in select areas across the city based on past success rates of bicycle rentals as part of a pilot program.
“[T]he cities that are doing well, the cities with neighborhoods that thrive … are cities that are embracing new modes of transportation technology,”
Councilman Kerry McCormack said during a City Council hearing Monday.
According to Matt Gray, Mayor Frank Jackson’s chief of sustainability, sites will include Ohio City, University Circle, the Euclid Corridor and downtown.
The legislation arrives nine months after Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson ordered the Bird Scooter Company to remove the 100 electric scooters that had popped up just days before across the city, following permit problems and safety concerns.
A year later, the pilot program is designed to test “new regulations on businesses” that rent electric scooters and bikes, requiring vendors to pay the city a small fee for rentals. The new legislation also represents an attempt to counteract the safety hazards of these mobility devices, requiring riders of electric bikes and scooters to be at least 18 years old to rent.
In addition, riders will be not be allowed on streets with car speed limits of more than 35 mph. Whether on a street or sidewalk, scooters will be prohibited from travelling faster than 15 mph. Riders will also be required to park electric scooters and bikes in upright positions.
The ordinance goes into effect following the mayor’s approval. From there, the city has 30 days to submit guidelines for the legislation.
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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2019.
LOL if we think that scooters are what’s causing the thriving cities to thrive.
glad to see city council spending time tackling the big important issues
I am not a cynical Clevelander, like a lot of the sad saps that throw darts at the city from the suburbs, but I do find it to be a strange coincidence that what the city labeled as a public nuisance requiring immediate removal is now permitted, so long as the company shares the profits. If this company agreed to all of the public safety and zoning guidelines but did not agree to pay the city, would the scooters be back? This is about revenue and nothing else. Bird requires a helmet, loosely in an agreement sent to your phone when you rent one. I see nothing in this article about the city agreeing to enforce it, which would justify a mandatory private contribution.
Also, every city’s downtown is different. Ours has a lot of undulations and related infrastructure issues. I foresee no real problems in University Heights or the east bank of The Flats, once you get there. I definitely see issues in the E. 9th/financial district during lunch hour and rush hour. I foresee injuries-a-plenty on the bricked roads leading down a steep incline to the east bank. Also, Tremont and Ohio City residents will be annoyed as the city mandated that the scooters be left upright. Cool. How do you enforce that? Santa Monica, CA banned them because they were so omnipresent and riders were so careless they were left at the foot of residential driveways, causing a lot of property damage and complaints.
Travelling to other cities i always use bikes, ebikes, and scooters. It’s a much better way to travel and allows you to really connect with the city. And it’s easy! Frankly i think the 15MPH limit is silly and I think people will mostly ride them safely. Will it have a major impact onthe cool factor? Maybe not, but frankly not having them certainly will add to the lame factor.