HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-24-22 Public Comment - G. Turner - Bird ScootersFrom:Gary Turner
To:Agenda
Subject:Bird Scooters
Date:Monday, October 24, 2022 11:09:50 AM
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As an elderly long time resident of Montana and now Bozeman I want to express
my opposition to the Bird Scooter proliferation. During the last several months I
have had to move numerous Bird scooters from my residential property in HarvestCreek SubDivision. I have found them on my front lawn, within the adjacentsidewalk and yes, even within my own driveway right under the front wheel of my
vehicle! These scooters tend to show up late at night after I have retired for the
night. I asked my new neighbor 2 doors over if he was involved and he mentionedhis friends (a younger group, guessing college student age). I explained I have beenmoving such scooters from my property and my next door neighbor's property for
several weeks (I do the neighbor's seasonal yard work). He said he would inform his
friends. The problem subsided but only for a few weeks. Sadly I found one on the
sidewalk again during my snow shoveling yesterday. I did call Bird (two times) andthe police weeks ago but I could not see any real action. I will add that I have
physical limitations at age 75 and find it a challenge to move the scooters to more
appropriate and safer places. However, once they are moved it can take more than a
week before they disappear (even after calling Bird and giving them the scooter IDnumbers and location). I believe the police department should attempt to identify
some of the offenders and issue citations for blocking sidewalks and other public
places. Seems that these scooter drivers are also committing trespass, for the most
part on private properties. Another concern is public safety. I would like to seethe city cancel its contract with Bird or at least forcefully confront the bad behaviors
of so many of its users. Gary Turner, 3035 Oliver Street, Bozeman, MT 59718