Mar. 16—The Logansport Board of Public Works and Safety voted to approve an agreement with Bird scooter firm and rent two new patrol officers at Wednesday’s assembly.
The agreement with Bird lays out the foundations for the corporate’s electric scooters to function inside Logansport. The agreement states that electric scooters may be pushed from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. by people who find themselves no less than 18 years outdated. It additionally locations a restrict of 75 scooters within the metropolis on the program’s launch.
Additionally, the scooters might be required to observe the identical legal guidelines as bicycles. Bird will present signage that encourages secure driving, and scooters are to remain in bike lanes or to the correct facet of the road and provides bicycles the right-of-way.
The agreement doesn’t price Logansport cash, however it might generate a small stream of income for the town. Logansport will obtain licensing charges from Bird and an extra 5 cents per journey.
“I know there is no cost to us,” Planning Department Executive Director Arin Shaver stated. “That’s one of the things that’s been questioned.”
The metropolis may also don’t have any legal responsibility for accidents or brought on by scooter malfunctions or consumer error. The agreement clearly states that Bird might be answerable for these varieties of incidents and pays for the insurance coverage protection.
Another vital facet of the agreement is the town’s potential to again out of it at any level.
“We can terminate our contract at any time,” Shaver stated. “We can say, ‘You know what, we can see that it’s a problem in Logansport and we don’t want them here anymore.’ And we can actually get them removed.”
When board member Lisa Terry requested who will oversee this system, Mayor Chris Martin stated the town will guarantee Bird is assembly the necessities set forth within the agreement. Shaver and Pomasl stated there are a lot of methods to observe information from the scooters.
“We have ways to audit the number of rides, too,” Deputy Mayor Jacob Pomasl stated. “In the agreement, it allows us to get data from (Bird) to make sure they’re following the letter of the law.”
The agreement handed 2-1, with Terry voting in opposition to it.
Two new Logansport cops have been additionally accredited on the Wednesday assembly. Logansport Police Chief Travis Yike requested the board to rent Andrew Haney and Matt McIntire as probationary patrolmen, efficient Wednesday.
“I’m fortunate enough to hire two officers at the same time with experience,” Yike stated. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
Both officers labored in Rochester beforehand, and they’re each Cass County residents who graduated from Logansport High School. Haney labored on the Rochester Police Department for 10 years, and McIntire labored on the Rochester Police Department for 5 years.
“I appreciate the opportunity to come serve the citizens of Logansport,” Haney stated. “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time, and now it’s coming to fruition.”
The board voted unanimously to rent each officers and congratulated them on their new positions.
“It’s good to be home,” McIntire stated.