By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The brakes had been pumped a bit Monday night on legislation regulating electrical scooter companies in Bowling Green.
The scooter legislation was on City Council’s agenda for a closing studying – however the difficulty was tabled after a number of modifications had been prompt.
At Monday’s listening to, council’s Community Improvement Committee additionally heard issues from a citizen about scooters sharing streets with motor autos and sidewalks with pedestrians.
Sharon Stratmann requested the place the scooters will probably be allowed to function. Council member Jeff Dennis mentioned the electrical scooters will probably be thought-about vehicular visitors – like automobiles and bicycles.
“They will not be on the sidewalk,” he mentioned. The exceptions will enable the scooters to be parked on sidewalks, and can enable them to be operated on sidewalks permitted at BGSU.
The scooters could have a most velocity of 20 mph, and won’t be allowed on roads with velocity limits over 35 mph, Dennis mentioned.
The native legislation permits the metropolis to make the guidelines particular to Bowling Green. The state of Ohio has handed legislation permitting the use of electrical scooters and authorizing native jurisdictions to cross further laws as they see match – in any other case the state regulation governs.
During the public listening to on the legislation Monday night, Dennis proposed some amendments, equivalent to:
- Defining “micromobility devices” as bicycles, electrical bicycles and electrical scooters distributed by firms all through the metropolis to be rented per journey.
- Requiring the reporting of knowledge and statistics equivalent to: Users by gender and age; variety of autos in circulation; each day, weekly and month-to-month lively customers; small car utilization together with consumer miles and length of rides; warmth maps exhibiting routes, developments, origins and locations; buyer feedback and complaints; and reported collisions.
- Establishing fleet dimension necessities that set a minimal and most variety of scooters and bicycles per enterprise.
Dennis defined that the information reporting and fleet dimension necessities are primarily based on legislation in place in Athens, Ohio.
The statistics will assist the metropolis collect data on transportation wants, he mentioned.
“I personally hope that any company we are giving a license to is willing to capture this information,” Dennis mentioned. “The burden on us could be very low.”
Dennis additionally voiced issues about firms flooding the streets with rental scooters and bikes.
“I think we need to be very careful about the number we are permitting on the streets,” he mentioned. “There are several operators who are interested in Bowling Green right now.”
But the two different members of the council committee reviewing the legislation expressed reservations about the information assortment modification.
Bill Herald questioned if the information assortment could be too onerous, particularly for small firms making an attempt to interrupt into the enterprise.
“I don’t want it to be too burdensome,” Herald mentioned.
Joel O’Dorisio expressed issues about privateness points, with a lot data being requested about scooter and bike clients.
“I would prefer to request information we are going to use,” he mentioned.
The council committee will meet once more to debate the proposed amendments previous to the Aug. 15 City Council assembly.
City employees has studied the Bowling Green State University coverage on e-scooters, in addition to legislation adopted in different Ohio cities. The aim is “to ensure that such mobility sharing systems are consistent with the safety and well-being of the citizens of Bowling Green.”
The legislation requires that the scooters include a ahead pointed lamp, a again reflector, and lists the following working guidelines:
- Cannot be operated on sidewalks, besides as permitted by BGSU.
- Cannot be operated on streets or highways with velocity limits larger than 35 mph.
- Cannot exceed 20 mph.
- Riders should be a minimum of 18 years outdated.
Based on experiences in different communities, Bowling Green’s legislation establishes parking laws in order that the scooters don’t impede ADA accessibility.
Following are some provisions of the proposed e-scooter ordinance:
- Any enterprise looking for to function a shared electrical scooter program inside the metropolis shall first enter into an settlement with the metropolis.
- Providers shall present simply seen contact data, together with toll-free telephone quantity and electronic mail deal with on every scooter for metropolis workers and the public to report issues.
- The metropolis reserves the proper to terminate the “use agreement” for trigger or woefully negligent practices.
- Providers will take affordable steps to make sure that all riders perceive the necessities of ADA accessibility and the significance of leaving ADA paths of journey clear and accessible.
- Providers might stage e-scooters in permitted parking areas. If a supplier needs to stage in areas apart from the public right-of-way, permission should be obtained from the metropolis, property proprietor or public company.
- Providers should adhere to all indemnification and insurance coverage necessities.
The ordinance additionally outlines some restrictions for working the e-scooters.
- No multiple rider will probably be allowed at a time.
- Riders should not carry gadgets that require each arms.
- The scooters could also be operated on shared bicycle/pedestrian methods, together with on shared pathways in public parks and streets. Anyone using an e-scooter on a bicycle/pedestrian pathway, and is approaching a pedestrian, ought to give an audible warning and yield to the pedestrian – dismounting if obligatory.
- E-scooters are to remain on the proper of road lanes, and supply the proper of technique to bicycles in bike lanes.
Parking necessities:
- Riders of e-scooters ought to park the units upright on onerous surfaces on the curb of the sidewalk, beside a motorbike rack, or in one other space particularly designated for bicycle parking, or on the road subsequent to an unmarked curb.
- Riders mustn’t park scooters in such a fashion as to dam the pedestrian clear zone space of the sidewalk, or ADA paths of journey.
- Riders mustn’t park the scooters the place they intrude with the affordable use of a business window show, or entry to any constructing entrance.
- Riders might park e-scooters in on-street parking areas in the following circumstances – when designated for scooters, the place the curb is lower than 3 toes huge, in neighborhoods with rolled curbs or insufficient sidewalk house, and in marked parking areas designated for bikes.