GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) – Very quickly folks in Grand Junction can have extra choices to get round city as the town council agrees to maneuver forward with a pilot program that can deliver electrical scooters and different types of micromobility to the town.
City officers outlined micromobility gadgets as bicycles, e-bikes, electrical scooters, and some other small light-weight automobiles. The metropolis intends to permit as much as three firms to deliver their gadgets to Grand Junction and arrange a fleet of types. These fleets could be dockless e-scooters, e-bikes or bicycles that to get returned to a dock that anybody can hire.
“The city has been receiving a good amount of interest from both the national companies and then also these more locally based Colorado companies looking to deploy in the GJ market,” stated Daniella Acosta, a senior planner with the group improvement division. “The city really thought that this is the time where we need to get ahead of the curve and start to prepare our transportation system for the arrival of both privately owned and shared micromobility.”
Users desirous to hire the scooters will need to have a wise telephone and a bank card. The complete setup course of for a person journey is completed by way of an app.
Although e-scooters are already up and operating in cities similar to Denver, Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City, there are some locally who’re hesitant about having them on the town.
“I think it’d be a good addition to have some of that mobility stuff here in town,” stated Chris Bejarano, who owns Bejarano Barbering on Main Street in Grand Junction. “I just worry about sort of the same problems that the metro areas have with them, where they just get inundated with scooters.”
Bejarano stated he’s in favor of getting the scooters on the town and thinks the group will profit in the long term, however he worries in regards to the long-term results they might have.
“So, I don’t know that bringing it into a smaller setting would make it better or worse,” stated Bejarano. “And I guess that’s kind of what we’re talking about. Is it going to be worse? Is it going to be good?”
The metropolis stated every micomobility firm shall be required to have a smartphone app that retains observe of the gadgets by way of geo-fencing, which Acosta stated may assist maintain the scooters and different gadgets from getting out of hand.
“The first tool is obviously the geofencing,” stated Acosta. “At the conclusion of the trip, many users will have a credit card tied to their account. In order to successfully conclude a trip, they’ll need to do what is called a parking photo feature enforcement. They’ll have to take a photo of their device in the correct location upright.”
Acosta stated the town will work hand in hand with the varied firms to determine the place the gadgets can and can’t go in addition to arrange particular docking stations the place the gadgets must be returned.
But what’s to cease somebody from simply leaving a scooter wherever they need as soon as their journey is completed?
“We will be working with these companies to have them structure some sort of penalty for users that fail to do that,” stated Acosta. “There are cities like Washington D.C. that have a $90 penalty fee for incorrectly parking. So, we think that’ll be enough of a disincentive to get folks to follow the regulations and the rules.”
But there’s additionally the matter of the place the gadgets can or can’t be used. In Grand Junction’s downtown space for instance. Main Street is a dismount zone, which means no bicycles, scooters, or skateboards are allowed on the sidewalk. Micromobility gadgets shall be topic to the identical legal guidelines. The metropolis stated the identical will apply to Colorado Avenue and components of seventh Street. Areas outdoors of the dismount zone might have the gadgets utilized in bike lanes or sidewalks except in any other case posted.
“We’ll be using geofencing as a way to delineate where these can operate or not,” stated Acosta. “That will include users in their apps being informed of that in addition to the signage. Also, if a user were to get onto the sidewalk, the devices would eventually disengage and they would have to essentially move away from the sidewalk if they wanted to resume their trip or have their device be able to function again.”
Acosta stated realistically, the micromobility gadgets shall be right here in late March or early April. To prepare the town will have a look at which firms would be the finest match for the town’s wants and necessities. Once the gadgets are in Grand Junction, the town will conduct its year-long pilot program. Acosta stated there shall be quarterly assessments to see how the gadgets are functioning and have a look at what kind of influence they’ve on the group.
“It really comes down to the data and making sure that safety is something that’s not compromised,” stated Acosta. “We’d like to see increased high usage of this. We’d want utilization to be one of those driving factors in our recommendation. Then lastly, ensuring that they are a good fit for the community and the community responds positively to them.”
Once the businesses are chosen, Acosta stated the town will work with them to verify they’ve the bodily infrastructure and digital infrastructure in place.
“This is definitely a great opportunity to provide an expanded transportation choice,” stated Acosta. “And also introduce more modal shifts and ensure that Grand Junction is a place where people are not limited to only one mode of transportation but can take advantage of several.”
For extra details about Grand Junction City’s micromobility pilot program, please go to.
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