City Council delays implementing program for scooters in Tyler
Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, April 10, 2019
- Motorized scooter on the UT-Austin campus on April 25, 2018. (Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune)
City officials delayed a decision on a trial program that would allow people to rent motorized scooters for use on city streets and sidewalks.
The Tyler City Council voted 6-0 on Wednesday to delay approval of a pilot program for scooter rentals and reconsider the issue in 90 days.
The vote came after members voiced concerns about how the city would monitor the program, how scooter users would be kept safe, and whether the scooters would become a nuisance for local colleges.
The proposed resolution would have authorized Blue Duck Scooters to implement a 30-day scooter-sharing program in which people would rent motorized scooters for a short period of time from one station and return them to another station when they’re done.
The scooters would look similar to ones powered by foot but be larger and have small engines that allow them to travel up to 15 mph, according to Jimmy Toler, the chief of the Tyler Police Department. He said it would be similar to bike-share programs in major cities.
Blue Duck Scooters is based in San Antonio and has implemented a program there. The company started providing services in Corpus Christi in 2018, and has sought permission to operate in El Paso, among other Texas cities.
Toler said motorized scooters already are allowed on many of the city’s roads and sidewalks under Texas law. The law limits their use to streets or highways where the posted speed limit is 35 mph or less. One difference is that the program would allow a private company to rent the scooters, so the city would need to limit its liability in the case of accidents, he said.
Toler said in an interview he supports having the program. He said it would begin with offering 20 to 30 scooters in a concentrated area around town, and the city would reserve the right not to implement a full program after 30 days.
He said if colleges wanted to have scooter rentals available on their campus, they would need to negotiate with the company themselves.
“I would think that they would need an agreement with TJC and UT Tyler before we even agree to do a pilot project … because it would be those campuses to downtown is what I would think,” Mayor Martin Heines said during the meeting.
Councilwoman Linda Sellers asked if other cities of Tyler’s size have implemented the scooters.
Toler said there are cities the size of Tyler that have the scooter programs, and they are becoming very popular throughout Texas.
He said the company deployed in Frisco, but the city went around and picked them all up because the company did not clear the deployment with city staff.
“UT Tyler’s a big campus,” Toler said. “I can see where someone would take a scooter from one side to another to go to class, but that’s an agreement they would need to enter into with UT Tyler.”
Councilman Ed Moore asked about pedestrian traffic and what the city’s responsibility would be for maintaining and keeping track of the scooters.
Toler said that would be the company’s responsibility.
Sellers said it would be premature to approve the item immediately, and the city should seek feedback from members of the public and the local colleges.
Councilman Don Warren asked about safety. He said he saw someone do a face-plant on a motorized scooter while he was visiting Austin.
Councilman Bob Westbrook spoke in support of the scooters.
“Other than the numerous safety concerns that we just discussed partially, I think it’s kind of an exciting thing to introduce possibly to the (downtown) area because we’re always trying to find new ways to attract millennials to come downtown, stay downtown, transport around town,” Westbrook said.
“I just think that it’s a conversation that needs to be extended because I think there are some benefits to the program, too, that may not be outweighed by the safety (concerns) … but still,” he said.
Heines said there is a lot of gray hair on the City Council.
He said there are more than 20,000 college students in Tyler, and the city should do it, but he is not sure of how. He said the pilot should be limited to the colleges and the downtown area.
“There’s a lot of young people in our community that think differently than we do, and I think we need to look at some of the new things that are going on to allow them to live their life the way that they see fit as well,” Heines said.
Councilman Broderick McGee said he is the youngest person on the City Council. He asked what the city could lose by allowing them to come in.
“We’re not obligated to do anything,” McGee said. “They’re (the company) going to do everything. So I’m thinking (it) would be a great opportunity.”
He said he saw them all over the place when he visited Washington, D.C., and they’re popular in other cities.
Sellers said she wants to implement it after further review and doesn’t want to give the public the wrong impression.
The City Council can decide in 90 days whether to vote on the issue or delay it again.
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