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were first released in Los Angeles in 2017, with their use exploding since. Station based bike <br /> share is high but based on 6 major markets along the coastal areas of the country. Based on data <br /> from Portland, a third of residents and half of visitors claimed they used scooters to replace <br /> driving and scooters also served as a means to attract people to alternative transport and move <br /> people into bikeshare programs. The 2 main concerns that come with scooters are sidewalks and <br /> parking. The average trip one takes with one is 1.1 miles. Looking at data from two emergency <br /> rooms in the UCLA study, along with Portland's statistics, it was found that the most injuries <br /> occurred from people just falling off the scooters. There were minimal instances of pedestrian vs. <br /> scooter accidents. The majority of riders did not wear helmets. <br /> Mr. Baas gave an account of how scooters have been implemented in Cuyahoga County. 100 <br /> were dropped in Cleveland with no notice, which resulted in a moratorium on them. This has <br /> been a common business practice among vendors. The county took a year to come up with <br /> licensing and regulations for them. Cleveland piloted the County program and gave 4 licenses to <br /> 4 vendors that include Bird, Lime, Spin, and Veoride, with the county putting a 1600 limit on the <br /> number of scooters. Each business' license is only good for a year. Managing the number of <br /> scooters is key to avoid overflooding the market and creating problems for a city's transportation <br /> system. Above any municipal law is the county's rules contained in the licensing. If a <br /> municipality wants to participate in the pilot program, they can approve them by ordinance. The <br /> county has an MOU program that makes rules unique to each municipality. It was noted that <br /> devices are routinely collected and rebalanced throughout the area, one of the key regulations in <br /> the county's program. Companies are now able to build in incentivized parking areas and limits <br /> on geography, which help them match demand and keep sidewalks continually clear. Companies <br /> also pay individuals to pick up scooters and redistribute them to approved parking areas. <br /> Planning and Law department staff stated that the scooters may fall under the section of the code <br /> that governs mopeds. Another common approach is to put their regulations into the bike section <br /> of code since you want them to operate like bikes. Section 373 of Lakewood's code has a <br /> provision for bicycle rentals, mandating that a vendor must have a sticker on it and be registered <br /> with the chief of police. <br /> Mr. Baas noted that Columbus updated its code in 2018 and Cleveland did the same in April <br /> 2019, each choosing to generally to fall under the state code's language on mobility devices (e- <br /> bikes and scooters). Each cities code update included how devices are to be treated on streets, in <br /> regard to parking, and Columbus added an age to operate guideline (16 years old). Most cities <br /> restrict devices to 35 mph or less streets. Columbus lets scooters travel up to 20 mph and <br /> Cleveland restricts them to 12 mph. E-bikes' speed cannot be regulated. Cleveland chose to <br /> adopt a sidewalk use map based on the zoning map. Columbus had a more general definition, <br /> which entails prohibiting going on sidewalks unless you have to access property. Cleveland <br /> requires devices to be parked in the upright condition and prohibits them from blocking access to <br /> driveways or doorways. Issues that these types of transportation present the opportunity to clear <br /> up confusion in the bike code. <br /> Chairman Bullock made a motion to make a request of the administration for Council to consider <br /> a traffic code update to incorporate regulations for e-bikes and scooters, which was seconded by <br /> Councilman Litten. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. <br />