HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-24-22 Public Comment - R. Craighead - Electric Scooters & 'Micromobility'From:ron_c@bresnan.net
To:Agenda
Subject:Electric Scooters & "Micromobility"
Date:Monday, October 24, 2022 8:02:04 PM
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Dear BTAB - Long time Midtown/Bozeman resident here. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen these ‘Bird’
electric scooters strewn about in people’s lawns, left indiscriminately lying on our sidewalks, impeding foot traffic
& handicapped access, even left in roads.
I‘ve also witnessed - numerous times - these electric scooters being driven at night by inebriated people, darting in
front of cars with only a tiny, barely visible headlight. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously
injured by a car. Is the City ready to start issuing citations to these people? If so, are you willing to utilize the
resources of our already stretched Police to begin enforcing these violations? Seems they have a lot more serious
issues to deal with here - like murder, assault, domestic violence, hard narcotics and vehicular traffic violations.
If this is the latest and greatest answer to ‘micro mobility’ [whoever came up with that name, anyway?], I must
protest. The most efficient form of ‘micro mobility’ is foot travel. At least bicycles are appreciated enough to not be
left abandoned and scattered around town. I have nothing against personal ownership of e-scooters. Those are not
likely to end up randomly strewn about in people’s lawns. The scooter rental companies themselves have proven the
biggest flaw in this scheme - and that is the inability to keep their scooters from being a public hazard and a
nuisance..
As a long-time tax payer in this city, please save the money you are going to pay a ‘micro mobility consultant’ and
just outlaw e-scooter rentals in Bozeman.
Thank you,
Ron Craighead
Midtown
Bozeman