scooters Archives - WalkMassachusetts

Boston Globe: I took Brookline’s e-scooters for a road test. Here’s what happened

Boston Globe: “I took Brookline’s e-scooters for a road test. Here’s what happened”

Is it legal to ride these e-scooters on the sidewalk? Also a bit hazy, according to Brendan Kearney of the pedestrian advocacy group WalkBoston.

Posted April 12, 2019

Extra reading:

There are currently 8 bills before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation that deal with scooters & micro-mobility devices. We testified before the committee on March 28th: “At the most fundamental level, we believe that in areas of the Commonwealth where there is more than occasional sidewalk use by pedestrians, motorized scooters should be accommodated on-street or in separated bike/scooter lanes where they will not conflict with people who are walking on the sidewalk.” Read our full testimony.

Re: Comments on H3073/S2049 An Act relative to micro-mobility and motorized scooters

March 28, 2019

Joint Committee on Transportation
Joseph A. Boncore, Senate Chair
State House, Room 112
Boston, MA 02133

Joint Committee on Transportation
William Straus, House Chair
State House, Room 134
Boston, MA 02133

Re: Comments on H3073/S2049 An Act relative to micro-mobility and motorized scooters

Dear Chairman Boncore and Chairman Straus,

WalkBoston is Massachusetts’ main pedestrian advocacy organization, working to make walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. We write to provide the Committee with our comments on H3073/S2049 An Act relative to micro-mobility and motorized scooters.

We understand the need for state legislation to guide the roll out of scooters in Massachusetts and support the efforts of MassDOT, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), and a number of the state’s municipalities to provide a statewide framework for these new mobility devices. We also believe that scooters may positively add to mobility options for Massachusetts’ residents.

At the most fundamental level, we believe that in areas of the Commonwealth where there is more than occasional sidewalk use by pedestrians, motorized scooters should be accommodated on-street or in separated bike/scooter lanes where they will not conflict with people who are walking on the sidewalk.
As reporting is beginning to emerge from cities where scooters have been operating the number of pedestrian injuries attributed to scooters on sidewalks is significant, with 8% of “scooter” injuries in Los Angeles being pedestrians who were hit by scooters or tripped over scooters on sidewalks.
After many years of work to meet the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) we are only beginning to approach an accessible sidewalk system. WalkBoston is very concerned that allowing the use of scooters on sidewalks will result in scooters blocking sidewalks and curb ramps. We recommend that municipal regulations require scooters to be locked to appropriate bike racks or corrals, as other communities around the country have started to consider.

Our comments are focused on H3073/S2049 because this is a comprehensive bill that has been drawn up with the active participation of the agencies noted above.

We are pleased that the bill limits scooters to a speed of 15 miles per hour, although this will be very fast if it is happening on a sidewalk where pedestrians are walking at 2-3 miles per hour.
We are pleased that the bill requires scooters to have front and rear lights and turn signals.
As currently drafted the act would allow motorized scooters on all shared use paths operated by MassDOT or the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) including such places as the Southwest Corridor, the Esplanade, the Mass Ave and Longfellow Bridge sidewalks, and the Cape Cod Rail Trail. We do not believe that these heavily used paths that double as linear parks with significant numbers of young children, people with disabilities and seniors should be used by motorized scooters unless they are operated at a significantly lower speed (5 mph).

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important piece of transportation safety legislation.

Best regards,

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Carol Steinberg
WalkBoston Board Member
Wheelchair user and 9-year member of the MA Architectural Access Board

Jamaica Plain Gazette – “City Council holds hearing regarding dockless mobility, electric scooters”

Jamaica Plain Gazette: “City Council Holds Hearing Regarding Dockless Mobility, Electric Scooters”

Kristen McCosh from the Mayor’s Office of Persons With Disabilities said that part of her role is to make sure the path of travel on the sidewalks remain unobstructed.
“Sidewalks are the most common mode of travel for people with disabilities,” McCosh said. She said she was concerned about accessibility of the scooters themselves as well as their speed, and where they might be left in the way of someone who is blind or low vision.
“People with disabilities are not in a position to move them or even go around them,” she said.
In the third panel, Stacy Thompson, executive director of the Livable Streets Organization, and Brendan Kearney from WalkBoston, made suggestions about the implementation of the new scooters. Thompson told the City Council that she hopes they will meet their excitement about the prospect with “increased funding for the infrastructure that will be required to support this.” She also said that regulating the speed of the scooters is just a small portion of the conversation that needs to be had about regulating the speed of all vehicles. Redesigning streets and curbside management were things that Kearney said needed to be thought about.

Posted November 9, 2018

East Boston Times-Free Press – “City Council Holds Hearing Regarding Dockless Mobility and Electric Scooters”

East Boston Times-Free Press: “City Council Holds Hearing Regarding Dockless Mobility and Electric Scooters”

In the third panel, Stacy Thompson, executive director of the Livable Streets Organization, and Brendan Kearney from WalkBoston, made suggestions about the implementation of the new scooters.
Thompson told the City Council that she hopes they will meet their excitement about the prospect with “increased funding for the infrastructure that will be required to support this.”
She also said that regulating the speed of the scooters is just a small portion of the conversation that needs to be had about regulating the speed of all vehicles. Redesigning streets and curbside management were things that Kearney said needed to be thought about.
O’Malley said this was one of the most substantive hearings they have had about this topic, and added that “as a City, we need to do a tremendously better effort going forward as it relates to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.”
He called this a “complex issue,” but one that needs to be discussed.
He said he feels strongly about implementing a pilot program in the spring of next year.

Posted October 26, 2018

Dockless scooters have landed. Here’s what that means

We’ve been thinking about writing about this issue for a while, but a little bird told us that fleets of dockless scooters were dropped unannounced into a few communities in Metro Boston today – which is why we’re publishing this on a Friday afternoon!

WalkBoston makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. New mobility choices are being introduced every day. Transportation options that are safe and get more people out of single occupancy vehicles can be positive additions to the mobility mix.

WalkBoston’s position

Sidewalks should be reserved for people walking or using wheelchairs. If users of micro-mobility devices are on the sidewalk, it is likely that the street is unsafe – and that needs to be fixed. We like how Walk SF framed this discussion: “The greatest threat to pedestrians is, of course, cars and trucks. The potential harm that automobiles can inflict on people is why Walk SF works every single day to make our streets and sidewalks safe – and make Vision Zero a reality.”

Where things stand in MA: July 2018

Smart phones have made on-demand mobility options easier to access.
More types of shared bikes: docked bikeshare bikes (BlueBikes, formerly Hubway) & dockless bikeshare (Lime, Spin, ofo, Pace/Zagster, AntBicycle, etc).
More types of wheeled options: scooters (Lime, Bird, etc), one-wheels, electric longboards/skateboards, etc. Additional mobility assistance devices that serve people with mobility impairments are also coming soon.
Longer-lasting, smaller batteries have made electric scooters, electric pedal-assist and fully electric bicycles (e-bikes) possible. These are not just being used for short term rentals in a shared ecosystem; people are also buying them for personal use.
Additionally, autonomous vehicle testing is underway in the city of Boston, with citywide testing recently granted; Massachusetts has also opened applications to test in 14 communities around the Commonwealth.

What cities and towns should do

Cities and towns can most effectively respond by rapidly implementing safety improvements that work, while also looking for win/win opportunities to advance mobility goals:

Re-design streets to encourage slower speeds. The likelihood of a serious or fatal injury in a crash is drastically reduced when people are going slower.
Create safe lanes for low speed travel. As more mobility options develop, a bike lane may be seen as the ideal place for their use. It can be, as long as users are going a speed that makes it safe and accessible to everyone else using it; at the same time, that lane needs to be a place where people feel safe and protected from larger vehicles.
Ensure multi-use paths stay that way. Paths should be off limits to fully-motorized vehicles, no matter their fuel source. We recognize that these paths are linear parks that double as transportation corridors, but the parks should remain safe and comfortable places for people to enjoy. If electric pedal-assist bikes are allowed on multi-use paths, the paths should be low speed zones (10 mph). Any shared electric pedal-assist bikes should have a GPS-regulated governor to cap the speed. This technology is now being used as part of the new ValleyBike Share program in the Pioneer Valley.
Create more bike and scooter parking so that people have a place to leave bikes and scooters and keep sidewalks and curb ramps clear for people walking, people using wheelchairs, and people with strollers or grocery carts.
- Encourage (or require) mobility providers to provide parking or funding so that the municipality can add areas/corrals that fit into ongoing planning efforts.
- Add more in-street bike parking on corners or near crosswalks to “daylight” the intersection. This can be a way to formalize the ‘no parking’ zone that exists close to intersections, while also improving sight lines. People can more easily see pedestrians who are waiting at a corner to cross if they are not blocked by a vehicle.
Ensure that traffic signals work for everyone, not just people in cars. We have many reservations about “smart” or “adaptive” signals. Any signal timing changes should include a study of impacts on pedestrian safety and delay.
Rethink curb management. Delivery zones, short term drop-off/pick-up zones, flexible bike/scooter parking, food truck spots, temporary parklets, peak hour bus lanes, and other options are all on the table when the lane next to the curb is thought of as a flexible space rather than just a parking spot.

We look forward to continuing our conversations with municipalities and other stakeholders as they update regulations to respond to a changing mobility landscape. We also look forward to hearing from you about how WalkBoston should be weighing in on this and other issues that impact people walking!

Additional reading

Curbed: Don’t ban scooters. Redesign streets. Cities are regulating mobility startups, but ignoring the real problem—there’s still too much space for cars. (July 13, 2018)

Walk SF: Walk San Francisco Stands Up for sidewalks – our stance on electric scooters (June 27, 2018)

Slate: Give the Curb Your Enthusiasm. Worth billions but given away for free, the curb is arguably the single most misused asset in the American city—and one that, more than any giant investment in apps, sensors, or screens, can determine the future of transportation. (July 19, 2018)

Metro: Self-driving car testing expands in Boston, to 14 other Mass. cities and towns. Officials cleared the way to allow companies to test their autonomous vehicles on more Massachusetts roads. (June 22, 2018)

NACTO: NACTO Releases Guidelines for the Regulation and Management of Shared Active Transportation As shared dockless bikes and scooters proliferate on city streets, guidelines aim to ensure the best outcomes for the public (July 11, 2018)

City of Boston: Autonomous Vehicles: Boston’s Approach (June 22, 2018)

Mass.gov: How to Test Autonomous Vehicles in Massachusetts (June 2018)

The Urbanist: Adaptive Signal System Kicks Pedestrians to the Curb (June 9, 2017)