Edhat Staff
Source: City of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara awoke [Friday] morning to about 100 electric scooters lining Downtown State Street sidewalks. The company Lime Bike, based in San Mateo, CA, placed the electric scooters despite conversations with City Officials about existing Municipal Code regulations that conflict with the scooter deployment. “We see the electric scooter share as potentially having transportation and economic vitality benefits to the City. But we are also concerned about the safety of our citizens and their use of the scooters,” said Rebecca Bjork, Public Works Director.
Electric scooters are placed on the sidewalk with onboard indicators to use a phone app to pay for and use it. When done with a ride, the user leaves the scooter and it becomes ready for the next user. The phone app lets users know where to find a scooter, among other information.
Over the past two months, the City has learned much about launches of scooter shares in other communities, sometimes multiple companies launching within weeks. While clear benefits exist, scooters are causing controversy and safety issues. Scooters can be left in the travel path of the sidewalk and become a trip hazard to pedestrians. Many are ridden on the sidewalk. Although riding an electric scooter by state law requires a helmet, the companies typically do not provide them. Clutter is also an issue as scooters are often piled in certain locations, like transit stops. Where the scooters have already landed, cities are scrambling to write legislation to ensure the scooter share industry can be rolled out safely and within the context of each city.
Realizing this, City staff is bringing an emergency ordinance to City Council on June 19. The goal of the ordinance is to bring safety and accountability to scooter share and its providers through a limited one-year pilot program. While scooter share may provide some transportation benefit and much needed economic stimulus, staff believes it needs to be rolled out well and monitored for safety compliance and needed adjustments that are in line with Santa Barbara. The City also has some existing rules that enable Staff to impound the electric scooters should a company launch without City oversight. Staff has met with or been in contact with four companies regarding this pending ordinance discussion, as well as existing rules and impound procedures.
Lime Bike was notified of the pending actions and existing rules as well. Lime Bike inquired about launching 100 scooters as a test to see if they will work in Santa Barbara. While City staff stressed to the staff at Lime Bike the importance working with the Santa Barbara community and working within the process, it has chosen to put scooter out on the street [Friday]. The City notified Lime Bike immediately by phone and in writing that scooters will be impounded [Friday] at 1:00pm. The impounding [was in process Friday afternoon] and is being conducted by Public Works with assistance as needed from the Police Department.
Kids should be on skateboards – not scooters. Scooters remind me of the inline skating fad and we just can’t have that here.
The scooters are not gone. And they are very big. I saw several in different locations in downtown State Street. I was on my way to the farmers market. Then while I was waiting to park at the market, 2 people went by riding the scooters. They were on the sidewalk on Santa Barbara street right outside the market. In my opinion, these scooters have no place in Santa Barbara. Not only the safety factor, but boy are they very unsightly. I’ve been reading the past few weeks about San Francisco having so many problems with these scooters.
I forgot to put that I saw these scooters today, Saturday. It was around 9 a.m.
Supposedly ,the city is “green”, it wants to get people out of their cars, yet they clamp down on something as non threatening as scooters. The city government is a cancer on the community, staffed by clockers that berate and belittle the citizens. These petty bureaucrats were one reason for our deciding to leave after decades. I would very much like to see the results of a survey/poll of SB Citizens opinions of their local government and its’ “service” to them, service the community pays a very dear penny for.
The safety aspect would probably be the first thing to address. Does the company carry enough insurance if someone should ‘crash’, and hit their head, or a pedestrian. And, then the problem of them being left all over, and not conveniently located for others when someone ‘drops it off’ after they arrive at their location.
I’m happy they took them, if the people can’t have their tiny signs by the door then these should definitely not be on every corner.
Hey ! Is that a legal leafblower in the picture ?!
Ha Ha! I missed that! While I hate leaf blowers blowing debris onto neighbors that law is not enforced, but SCOOTERS, oh no! People are so tied up in the legal liabilities or, they will be left strewn about. Thus the world collapses upon itself. Anything that was once laid back and mellow about SB is but a memory. The financial stress required for SB living leaves little tolerance for scooters or anything else these days.
If the city allows them, will the city (taxpayers) be liable when people are injured? What about reckless riders knocking over feeble pedestrians? You know people will ride them on sidewalks. And what about the helmet issue–could the city be liable if riders clonk their heads and say “I assumed it was safe, the city allowed them and didn’t provide helmets.” I hate the litigious nature of society, but we ignore it at our peril.
If the city requires Lime Bike to obtain permits so the city can enforce the laws on Lime Bike, then the city would be lawfully bound to require all bicycles and scooters to have permits to operate on city streets and side walks.
Anchoo, your last sentence presents the problem of living in a lawyers litigious society precisely. Scooters should not be a big deal, but within said context, nothing short of staying at home on the couch, “is safe and legally non-compromising.”
Anchoo, your last sentence presents the problem of living in a lawyers litigious society precisely. Scooters should not be a big deal, but within said context, nothing short of staying at home on the couch, “is safe and legally non-compromising.”
More gimmicky clutter and liability risk for our city……
They allow the segways to be ridden all over town, including on the sidewalk. I fail to see the difference between scooters and segways.
The Segways are NOT being left all over the place, they go back to where they came from . And, it looks like the Segways are part of a tour, and not rented by individuals. The scooters can be left anywhere …. like in the middle of the street….. (if someone got pissy about it)……
I just watched this video ….. same subject, but in San Francisco, where electric scooters are banned… Good ole Stanley Roberts reporting… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVX_X6BKg60
I think they should be allowed, but only a limited number and there should be enforcement if all the regilations, helmets, no sidewalks — each scooter should have a clearly visible number. Some of rhe franchise fee should go to the MTD since the scooters will cut into the buses. And for downtown rhe city should. have parking requirements. Id bet they are fun to ride; i wonder how good are the brakes and uf they have turn signals. I think 15 mph is the top speed.
Banta Barbara. Where bans are issued faster than almost anywhere, except maybe China or Afghanistan… Arent we lucky to live in a such a free thinking, easy going and accepting community?
Liability? What happened to personal responsibility? The scooters have the rules right on the stem, and also offers to send a helmet to their customers for 10 bucks. People like them because they are designed well and easy to operate. Bike rentals have been in SB for over 30 years, this is just another option to get around.
Alas, personal responsibility is too often undermined by court rulings. And even if city liability is limited, a lot of money is spent on legal defense. But maybe something can be worked out. I like the idea of having scooters available downtown, as long as riders don’t frighten pedestrians. Scooters should go in the bike lanes.
Stop reading emails from Russian Bots.
I’d rather trip over a scooter than a transient.
Why are we regulating an increase in green traffic down our commerce deprived streets.
It’s just one word, Friday and it’s denotes a change or insertion to clarify a story.