Electric scooters are not the big issue they were a couple of years ago when flocks of them first appeared on the streets, but they have a new name.
The Greensboro City Council at the Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting plans to redefine electric scooters and electric bikes as “micromobility vehicles.” The old definition of an “electric standup scooter” defined it as having two wheels, while the new definition allows it to have no more than three wheels and a top speed of no more than 20 miles per hour.
The new definition comes with a whole bunch of regulations. But the one that will likely cause a lot of concern for micromobility vehicle riders is the impoundment clause.
The impoundment clause gives “any law enforcement officer or parking enforcement employee” of the city the right to impound any micromobility vehicle or bicycle that is being operated or parked in violation of the law.
If the parking enforcement employees enforce this law with the same vigor as they enforce parking regulations, then a lot of folks are going to leave their micromobility vehicle outside a business while they run in for a minute and when they return, they will discover it has been impounded.
Exactly how that impoundment will take place is not specified.
The ordinance also does not specify the “administrative fee” that will be charged for the impoundment and storage in order to get the micromobility vehicle back.
The ordinance does establish that it is illegal to ride a micromobility vehicle or bicycle on the sidewalk in the Central Business District and the micromobility vehicle or bicycle can be impounded for that violation.
The ordinance also establishes that designated bike lanes can be used by micromobility vehicles and it is illegal for any person to park or drive any vehicle in a designated bike lane other than micromobility vehicles and bicycles.
” it is illegal for any person to park or drive any vehicle in a designated bike lane other than micromobility vehicles and bicycles.” Does this apply to the entire city? If so, parking enforcement can have a field day on Hobbs Road.
Oh, I agree. But I have a question. It is very unlikely that it will happen, and I will do everything I can prevent it, or run away from it. But sometimes unexpected things happen, which are out of our control. A lightning strike. Bumping into a light pole. Tripping on your own feet. You know what I mean. Anyway, if I happen to be in a closed place, will I prosecuted if I have to fart?
The regulation is clearly focused on preventing micromobility vehicles from becoming useful transportation devices. If you park your car illegally, does it get impounded ? Micromobility technology is going to drastically cut into the profits of the oil companies and the car companies. This regulation proves they are winning the war against micromobility.
What is the reasoning behind this? Have large numbers of people been injured by scooters on sidewalks? Sometimes it looks like our city council is bored and just looking for something to do.
They have had a problem with people being knocked down and hurt in SF. They have banned them from sidewalks for this reason. They are re-evaluating their use on city streets there because of the high incidence of scooters being hit by cars. In high traffic areas, they are not a reasonable alternative for transportation unless there are designated bike lanes as they can injure people on sidewalks or coming out of doors onto the sidewalk and the scooter can’t stop or swerve in time to avoid them.