Anonymous
Source: City of Santa Barbara
On Tuesday, April 9, the Ordinance Committee proposed changes to the Shared Mobility Ordinance, which regulates programs for scooter and bike sharing on City streets. If approved by City Council on April 30, the ordinance will ban scooter share in the City until the emerging technology is proven safe.
The amended ordinance also paves the way for a bike share pilot program in Santa Barbara. A bike share program would allow people to rent bikes throughout the City quickly and easily via a phone app. The potential benefit to Santa Barbara will be the “grab and go” ease of taking a bike for a short trip through town. A bike share pilot program trial will help the City see if bike share is a good fit for the community. If City Council decides to move forward, bike share vendor selection will depend upon the ability to deliver a right-size, “Santa Barbara style” program.
If Council approves the amendments, the City will move forward with a bike share pilot program within six to nine months. Questions about shared mobility may be directed to Sam Furtner, Mobility Coordinator, at SFurtner@SantaBarbaraCA.gov or (805) 897- 2669.
The City created program. The City will be liable as soon as someone gets hurt. Narrow streets. No geo- fencing. No helmets. No control. No limit. No terms to terminate if there are problems. City Staff diverted from homeless issues to bike patrol. It’s a No Brainer. This is a flat N.O.!
i watch them on their motorized skateboards…with no helmet and speeds around 15mph…i warned one kid. “who are you?!?” Me, “no one…but i’ve been a skater for 40 years…wanna know what you’ll look like when you fall?”
stupid…just stupid.
3yr Dockless Pilot Program is sought. Electric and pedal power bikes that can be left anywhere at any time is now on deck. No review of best practices was done for the committee. No results from other communities were offered other than stories. No empirical data given what so ever on safety or the real costs to other cities. No clause to terminate the program is included. Motorized bikes will be a hazard in a regular bike lane and helmets will not be provided for users. Imagine the passing issues that force riders on motorized bikes into the street to pass slower bike riders? Riders will leave bikes anywhere and do not have to put them at a bike stand. It will be as bad a scooters piled up on a corner. The clutter of bikes on the street will be aided by City Staff clean up efforts through the “ambassador program” the City has downtown for the homeless. They will have 2 hours to “fix” any issues with bikes piled up, fallen or blocking an entry or exit too. In the meantime, City Staff, instead of doing their jobs which is to work with the homeless and get the off the streets will be picking up bikes, moving them and keeping them from becoming trip hazards. Why wouldn’t the company have someone working full-time for this and why would we give up our right of way for a commercial business operator who will take all the profits out of town? – Cities around the world are giving away their right of ways for FREE so these businesses can become multi-billion dollar companies at the expense of our public infrastructure and safety. The “re-balancing” is a joke. It says 20% of the bikes need to be in low income areas, but does not say that the rest may congregate in one area like the Bowl, Alice Keck Park, Oak Park or the Funk Zone for events to be left anywhere and everywhere while pedestrians walk to any festival. More frightening is that while they say it is a Bike Share Program the definition could include the new scooters being developed! They will be dockless! Finally, if someone causes an accident the company does not have to provide any data on the person who rented the bike. – The City again is not watching out for the best interests of residents, is facilitating the growth of a multi-billion dollar company at the expense of the community and is setting up any person injured for a fight against a multi-billion dollar company they can’t win to hold anyone accountable for their actions. All while the City remains blameless. Email the City Council and tell them NO! SBCityCouncil @ SantaBarbaraCA .Gov
City Officials are insane to even consider any such bike “pilot program”. No, No, No. How many bad decisions can one City Council make? Add this one to the list along with the hundreds of other bad decisions within their narrow, limited comfort zones to avoid all serious major issues confronting our community. SB is staff controlled fronted by 5 puppets. Play time starts at 2p, City Hall.
As I understand it our city is an uninsured municipality and tries hard to blame property owners if someone trips and falls on badly maintained sidewalk in front of their home or business. If they can’t pass the buck they pay out claims when someone is injured, and motorized bikes and scooters are notorious for sending riders to the ER, especially when the riders don’t wear helmets. Boondoggle.
Bait & Switch. City Staff is advertising a scooter ban and sliding in a unvetted ordinance for a Bike Share program that will cause just as many problems with or without motorized bikes, because they don’t require bike racks, that scooters would have caused. The ordinance is ridicules and is another example of Staff trying to ram new unproven and unvetted programs that are not compatible with Santa Barbara down residents throats in an effort to take away everyone’s cars and allow the Downtown to develop without parking spaces. We have narrow streets, a popular drunk zone, few bike lanes, increasing incidents of bike accidents, no proper place to add 300 additional bikes or more to the City and developers that want everyone to use bikes, one wheels, scooters or skateboards so they can get more density without parking. – We simply don’t have the infrastructure and I need my car. I can’t do my errands or go to work without it. Our transportation network is unworkable for the vast majority of residents. It is great for students though!