After a two-year pilot, metropolis leaders are prepared to take the training wheels off the electrical scooter program.
The Knoxville City Council will vote Tuesday on the primary of two readings to exchange the pilot program — which expires on the finish of the yr — with a everlasting program.
In the proposed ordinance, town would challenge permits for up to two corporations to function as many as 300 gadgets every. The permits will value $12,000 and can embrace a $5,000 bond. They might be revoked by town at any time if riders do not comply with parking and use guidelines.
More: Love them or hate them, scooters may very well be in Knoxville for good
More: Will a brand new electrical scooter plan preserve downtown riders off sidewalks?
City leaders have been sluggish to enable electrical scooters as they watched corporations flood different markets. Cities like Nashville acquired scooters early however have been gifted a rash of complications and lawsuits together with them.
Instead of opening the flood gates, town carried out a pilot program and guidelines in early 2019.
Under the pilot program, VeoRide and Link scooters are presently obtainable in Knoxville with every firm working about 250 scooters.
Over the previous yr, there have been roughly 130,000 scooter journeys, primarily in downtown, Fort Sanders and University of Tennessee campus space, in accordance to metropolis information.
“We will likely be bringing Council a proposed ordinance that may set up a allow program beneath which two scooter corporations may function, with limits on the variety of scooters and stricter guidelines to cut back nuisances like improper parking,” Deputy to the Mayor Erin Gill wrote in summary documents. “(City coverage and enterprise innovation supervisor) Carter Hall and the ‘scooter staff’ right here have labored carefully with consultants and others to vet the proposal and we really feel that — if Council needs to preserve this feature — it positions us effectively to deal with the nuisances.”
In August, the city held a public meeting discussing much of what council will be voting on. The meeting addressed major concerns of Knoxville residents — sidewalk riding, safety and parking.
The proposed ordinance would restrict scooter parking to corrals that fit about 10 scooters, allowing for clear sidewalks and easy pickup by the company at the end of the day.
These corrals would be located across downtown and Fort Sanders.
Riders could be cited for improper parking or riding under the proposed ordinance, but like in other cities, it would be up to the company to enforce the rules. It’s likely that a ticket would be issued to the company, which could choose whether to pass the charge to the rider.
The proposed ordinance allows for up to 30 seated scooters per vendor, but each seated scooter counts for three scooters toward the 300-device cap. The proposal would also allow for bikeshare vendors to submit applications and would allow between 50 and 100 e-bikes. The city has previously said it would prioritize bikeshare vendors.
Tyler Whetstone is a Knox News politics reporter focusing on Knoxville and Knox County.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville plans to make scooters permanent downtown