TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Lynn Gelin, City Attorney
DATE: April 16, 2019
Title
ORDINANCE 18-19 AMENDING TITLE 7, “TRAFFIC CODE”, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 73, “MOTORIZED SCOOTERS, ELECTRIC BICYCLES AND GO-PEDS,” PROHIBITING THE OPERATION OF MOTORIZED SCOOTERS, ELECTRIC BICYCLES AND GO-PEDS; AMENDING TITLE 11, “BUSINESS REGULATIONS”, BY ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 121, “RENTALS OR LEASES OF MOTORIZED SCOOTERS, ELECTRIC BICYCLES AND GO-PEDS”, TO PROHIBIT THE SALE, RENTAL, OR LEASING OF MOTORIZED SCOOTERS, ELECTRIC BICYCLES AND GO-PEDS. (FIRST READING)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to approve Ordinance 18-19.
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Background:
Standing electric scooters first appeared in 2017 when a micromobility company placed thousands of scooters throughout Santa Monica, California. Users, through a smartphone application, locate and unlock scooters for their personal use. At the conclusion of their ride, the user simply abandons the device for the next person to locate and utilize. Micromobility companies offering standing electric scooters, bicycles and go-peds are rapidly expanding throughout the United States.
A study conducted by the American Medical Association considered the public health and safety concerns associated with electric scooters. The study found that, among scooter riders, the most common injuries associated with scooter accidents included falls, collisions with objects and being hit by a moving vehicle or object. Of the 249 patients that were studied, only 10 were documented as wearing a helmet and twelve had a blood alcohol level of greater than .05%. The study notes, “[t]his rapidly expanding technology is a disruptive force in short-distance transportation, and policy makers seeking to understand associated risks and appropriate regulatory responses should seriously consider its effects on public health.”
Locally, concerns have grown over the emergence of electric scooters. Recently, the City of Hollywood banned the operation of motor scooters and prohibited the sale, rental or leasing of motorized scooters and go-peds citing the growing number of “serious, often life threatening accidents” involving the use of these devices.
City Attorney Review:
Approved as to form and legal sufficiency.