HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-25-22 Public Comment - M. Balus - Bird ScootersFrom:Marty Balus
To:Agenda
Subject:Bird Scooters
Date:Tuesday, October 25, 2022 7:19:11 PM
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Bird Scooters have no place in Bozeman.
1. I do not appreciate a company leveraging tax payer property for profit.
A. Taking up space on public streets downtown.
B. Placing scooters on sidewalks and across sidewalks in neighborhoods throughout town. (I awoke one morning
and there were 4-bird scooters stagger, diagonally across the sidewalk in front of my house.) My money paid for that
sidewalk and I maintain that sidewalk.
C. When riders are done with them they just leave them where they run out of juice: on sidewalks, in streets, in
parks, in peoples yards.
2. These scooters are dangerous
A. People ride them on the sidewalk
B. People ride them on the trails throughout the city and damage the trails. I’ve witnessed small gangs of tourists
riding at high speeds on trails and executing skidding actions.
C. There is no age restriction. I’ve seen pre-teens riding them recklessly.
D. They are ridden without any form of protection required. No helmets ever and I’ve en seen kids riding them
barefoot.
E. Riders tend to think they’re exempt from traffic laws and I haven’t seen even the faintest attempt at enforcing the
restrictions on riding them on the sidewalk.
F. The Bozeman police will never enforce the restrictions on scooters. They don’t even have time to enforce laws
for auto drivers. I’ve witnessed people run red lights, stop signs, and text right in plain sight of our police and their
actions were ignored.
G. The design is inherently dangerous. They travel at a fairly high rate of speed but have extremely small wheels. If
a person riding a Bird scooter at full speed hit a pothole ,refuse, or an icy patch they would most likely crash and get
seriously and maybe even fatally injured. Highly likely that the city of Bozeman would get sued; highly likely that
the city would lose.
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