But bikes are allowed on the sidewalk.
there’s not always an alternate street to get where you want to go. especially if the place you are starting from or going to is not one of those lucky streets with bike lanes.
Here’s a fun metaphor. This is why I just can’t get totally mad at the scooters and bikes that use the sidewalks.
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Yeah, I get that you’re allowed to, but they shouldn’t be for long commutes. Sometimes it’s a necessity to get a block or two to your destination, but you shouldn’t ride down the length of Fayetteville on the sidewalks. Most cyclists know this. That said, I retract my statement on not being allowed on the sidewalk. Sometimes there’s no avoiding it. Not sure how to enforce using common sense to not fly down the sidewalk. I rarely see bikes doing it, but always see Birds doing it. Maybe the culture will take a while to catch up. I know when I first started cycling, I didn’t know the etiquette and used to make several faux pas.
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I agree that the culture needs to develop around scooter use and hope it is given the time to do so. You’re right- people on bikes generally can sense when they’re appropriate on the sidewalks and most folks that bike regularly eventually figure out the social cues. But there’s still a great number of complaints about bikes on the greenway trails so there’s always going to be conflict over space on transportation corridors.
How about a Flexx Lane?
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I think the V-shaped 3 wheeled scooters are from the same shop that has the Segway tours. The V-shaped scooters come by Memorial Auditorium on a regular basis, from what I can tell the company is giving a handful of people a tour of DTR.
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I thought it was illegal to have a bike on a sidewalk in NC?
The General Statutes do not address bicycling on
sidewalks. Rather this issue is usually addressed
through local ordinances.
Source:
A Guide to North Carolina Bicycle and Pedestrian Laws
I really hope our city’s solution to this innovative transportation concept is one that makes our city safer and more welcoming for all involved rather than outright rejection of anything new and different. It would be great if we could capitalize on the energy (there has been both positive and negative energy generated by the scooters) that this new mode of transit has generated in our city to make EVERYONE safer.
I can’t help but to think that greater acceptance of bike/alt/multi-use lanes would be a great outcome from this as it would both bring the scooters off the sidewalk and out of vehicle lanes by giving a clearly marked place to ride.
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It would be great if people walking 4 abreast down the sidewalk were aware of their surroundings. I can’t tell you how many times I’m jogging or walking quickly and people act oblivious. Ironically I rode one of these scooters for the first time last night and had zero issues. I rode on the sidewalk because I’m not suicidal, and I’m also not blind. I know how to stop or slow down and yield to the people walking or jogging. I don’t plan on using them regularly because I live close enough to drive downtown and don’t mind walking once I’m there. But if I was to use them again, I’d risk the odd chance a cop is going to be walking by and able to catch me and give me a citation vs the whims of every driver on the road.
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I think that this conversation points out the as yet immature development of safe bike lanes in Raleigh. We need separate zones for pedestrians, cars and bikes. Adequately separated bike lanes also provide a safe space for slower motorized vehicles like electric scooters and mopeds. If you travel in many cities in Europe, you find these separate spaces.
In Copenhagen and Berlin and many other cities, pedestrians know not to walk in bike lanes lest they get run over. Cyclists know not to ride in pedestrian zones (sidewalks). Cars respect bikes riding in bike lanes.
Raleigh needs to be more assertive in developing designated, separated bike lanes. Where we have them, these scooters are using them. Raleigh could ask Bird and Lime and other companies like them to help fund the development of separated bike lanes in order to implement them faster.
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Those V-shaped scooters is the downtown tour. They used to use Segways but use those silly looking scooters now. They’ve always used the sidewalks even for the Segways. I was actually commenting about that the other day wondering how they get away with that unless they have a specific permit?
Also, there’s more than 2 speeds on the scooters (stopped and fastest). I personally try to ride the streets but have no beef being respectful on the sidewalk with the Birds or my OneWheel if it’s safer (maybe no bike lane). I’ve been riding electric “scooter” type transportation downtown for 2.5 years and never had an issue with a pedestrian or law enforcement saying anything. Unfortunately I don’t expect everybody to be as respectful. It’s a process and evolution. We need safer non-sidewalk options and more respectful riders.
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I found this but it only states no bikes on Fayettevile Street Mall:
Sec. 12-1006. - BICYCLES ON SIDEWALKS.
No person shall ride bicycles on any of the following pedestrian ways or sidewalks: Fayetteville Street Mall, Moore Square Station Transit Mall, adjacent to designated bike lanes. This prohibition shall not apply to sworn law enforcement officerswhile on duty and to any private security force employed by a non-profit corporation and approved by the City Council.
( Code 1959 , §19-21(c); Ord. No. 1987-96, §1, 12-1-87; Ord. No. 2000-747, §1, 3-7-00)
Hmm, seems a bit outdated since they’re referencing Fayetteville Street Mall and the Moor Square Transit Mall.
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I’m trying not to be the cantankerous old man, but after two near misses from immature sidewalk Bird Riders (including one argument about how I should have moved out of the Brid’s way), I’m convinced their time is limited without some type of regulation. If DA’s are going to ride through a crowd on a sidewalk on Glenwood at 7pm, someone is going to get hurt (either by a bird crash or an altercation). A few of those will be followed by some type of enforcement. Or, we could grow up and be the polite citizens our mamas taught us to be.
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Perhaps a minor design point here in the system is that the scooters are parked on the sidewalk giving them a perception that they are for the sidewalk. Maybe they need to be corralled on the streets, like how the bike corrals are located. (putting aside the process of trading car parking for scooter parking for now)
At the same time though, a scooter user’s typical start and end point is from a sidewalk to a sidewalk so I guess it makes sense to park them there but I think it would make a statement if they were on the streets to begin with.
There’s a line item for the Aug 21 City Council meeting about scooters. Here’s the “Current Work and Next Steps” section from the attachment which indicates a report will be given at this meeting.
City Staff, including representatives from Transportation and Police, met with representatives
from Bird to further confirm the operating parameters of the company. A key focus of this
conversation was, and will continue to be, ensuring public safety for all rental system users
relative to other users of the public right-of-way. Staff shared the City’s intent to maintain the
quality of life for our citizens and to prevent any negative impacts on local neighborhoods or
businesses. To this point, staff continues to share situations and issues where scooters were
operated in contradiction to Bird’s terms and conditions of use (multiple riders, no helmets, etc.)
or were improperly parked, posing tripping hazards for pedestrians. In response, Bird has
provided “push” notifications to their users and has a program to provide free helmets (for the
cost of shipping). They have also conducted free helmet giveaways recently at the Downtown
Farmers Market.
Raleigh’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) is currently discussing potential
frameworks to recommend to City Council that would permit the operation of dockless bikeshare
systems within Raleigh’s rights of way. While somewhat different than scooter sharing
companies, these systems share many similarities with dockless bikeshare systems and can be
permitted and regulated through similar mechanisms. Staff anticipates a final recommendation
from the BPAC on an approach to dockless bicycles at their August 20 meeting that would be
presented for the Council’s consideration on September 4.
Transportation staff will continue to work closely with the City Attorney’s Office on this matter
and will provide another update to Council during the “Report of the Manager” portion of the
regular meeting on August 21.
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I encourage everyone to come out to the BPAC meeting and voice your opinions on scooter regulation. It looks like staff is developing a reasonable set of regs that will allow continued operation while giving the city a mechanism to address blocked ROWs, ect.
Even more important is to let you city council reps know how you feel. They are sensitive to direct feedback, especially phone calls and personal meetings.
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