Denver City Council considers solutions amid e-scooter safety concerns

On Monday, the Denver City Council presented ideas to refine the city's usage of e-scooters.

Since 2018, the two wheeled fixtures have been everywhere on streets in Denver County and beyond. Over 23 million rides have been clocked, hailed by councilmembers as helping the auto congestion issues in the city. 

But lately, some changes have been requested, especially as safety concerns around the scooters are starting to come into focus. 

"The important thing is that we're looking for ideas from the council to make this safer and allow for our citizens to continue to leverage this multi-mobility tool," said Councilmember Darrell Watson, who is a sponsor of the proposed policy changes. 

The changes would include potentially mandated dock zones or 'corrals' for scooters to mitigate the amount that are left on sidewalks or alleyways. There have also been discussions about mandatory sidewalk technology that could limit speeds in pedestrian heavy areas. Also discussed in the Monday meeting were fines for speeding on scooters as well as some type of sobriety tests. The latter two points were brought up in council as ones that might need further research and clarification. 

"The technology changes really fast. Luckily there are some other cities that have a model that evolves both in ordinance and regulations in their transit department," said Councilmember Sarah Parady. "We, on the other hand, have been more contractually driven."

Cities like San Francisco, New York and Seattle have ordinances in place regarding scooter usage. Denver has contracts with Lime and Bird scooters that are set to be renewed. 

"I believe that we're close to consensus," added Councilmember Chris Hinds, who brought forward the proposed changes. 

The council desires to cut down on accidents as well as general safety concerns. Denver Health reported that last year alone, roughly 1,962 ER visits were scooter related, with the average visit costing individuals over $19,000. 

"I don't see any other form of mobility in our society that has been spared the safety requirements the way scooters around now are," said Councilmember Paul Kashmann. 

If the council decides to move forward with its plans, it could have a request for proposal in the coming months which could lead to an eventual passage in the council.