She Was Excited About E-Scooters in Portland. Then She Broke Her Leg.

[Anonymous]

Scooters on our streets and sidewalks are gradually going out of fashion, that is good news. The same pattern is happening in many cities around the country. This is a story of a lady who went from super excited about them to active voice against, and here is why:

https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/04/27/she-was-excited-about-e-scooters-in-portland-then-she-broke-her-leg/

[Anonymous]

I hate the damn things. Worse is when you see little kids or parents riding WITH their kids on them. They're not toys - virtually no one is using them as "alternate transportation" but just for stupid, dangerous fun on already crowded sidewalks (which is illegal in many places).

[Anonymous]

I hope the scooter companies get sued into oblivion. They shouldn’t be allowed to litter the sidewalks like they do.

[Anonymous]

Old Town Alexandria is a disaster because of these. Traffic on King Street is bad enough already, and the brick sidewalks are already enough of mess without the dozens of scooters thrown about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate the damn things. Worse is when you see little kids or parents riding WITH their kids on them. They're not toys - virtually no one is using them as "alternate transportation" but just for stupid, dangerous fun on already crowded sidewalks (which is illegal in many places).

Actually, you technically can't even be on one if you're under 16 in DC.

[Anonymous]

In DC scooters are being used for transportation, not for fun.

And they’re growing more popular, not less

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scooters on our streets and sidewalks are gradually going out of fashion, that is good news. The same pattern is happening in many cities around the country. This is a story of a lady who went from super excited about them to active voice against, and here is why:

https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/04/27/she-was-excited-about-e-scooters-in-portland-then-she-broke-her-leg/

I’m about her age. I get her point. The young 16-40 year olds are just going to ride them anyway. They think anyone over 45 is old

[Anonymous]

So she’s upset Bc she got hurt riding one?! Typical.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Old Town and it is not a disaster. The only disaster is the old cranky people that won't stop complaining about them on Next Door. Relax and go for a ride.

And YES they are an alternative mode of transportation. I have ridden them over to Del Ray and plenty of people ride them to the metro.

And FFS stop saying you "almost got hit" by one.

[Anonymous]

My husband's coworker got in an accident while on an e-scooter and is paralyzed, possibly for the rest of his life. People just don't know how to use them in a safe, responsible way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Old Town and it is not a disaster. The only disaster is the old cranky people that won't stop complaining about them on Next Door. Relax and go for a ride.

And YES they are an alternative mode of transportation. I have ridden them over to Del Ray and plenty of people ride them to the metro.

And FFS stop saying you "almost got hit" by one.

Nope, they are are a nightmare. I counted 25 of them by the King Street metro the other day, piled up on top of one another all over the sidewalk. I saw several on the Parkway bike path south of OT this weekend (what were they even doing there). I never, ever see a kid wearing a helmet on one. In a placed that regulates store signage, paint colors, political sign placements, I cannot understand why the city is so lax on these scooters. I wonder what the kickback is.

When you rode your scooter over to Del Ray, where did you leave it? How long do you think it just laid there until it was picked up, or did you even care?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Old Town and it is not a disaster. The only disaster is the old cranky people that won't stop complaining about them on Next Door. Relax and go for a ride.

And YES they are an alternative mode of transportation. I have ridden them over to Del Ray and plenty of people ride them to the metro.

And FFS stop saying you "almost got hit" by one.

Use your damn legs to walk to Del Ray from OT. It's not that far. I'm an old fart at 37, but I hate the stupid things. They're eyesores, and people need to stop riding them on sidewalks, parks, and trails (they are not allowed on the MVT). I'd be fine with them if they had docks and there were far fewer of the ugly things, but as it is now, it's awful.

Lazy kids these days.

I like the people putting them on trash cans, or leaving their bags of dog poop on them. Not so much dumping them in the creeks - but I understand where people are coming from.

[Anonymous]

In a city other than DC I recently encountered a parent riding on one with his approximately 3 year old child, neither wearing helmets, at dusk and going top speed. Ridiculously unsafe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a city other than DC I recently encountered a parent riding on one with his approximately 3 year old child, neither wearing helmets, at dusk and going top speed. Ridiculously unsafe.

These are the same parents who let their kids climb on railings at the zoo, and then blame the zoo for not protecting their kid when something happens. You can't fix stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Old Town and it is not a disaster. The only disaster is the old cranky people that won't stop complaining about them on Next Door. Relax and go for a ride.

And YES they are an alternative mode of transportation. I have ridden them over to Del Ray and plenty of people ride them to the metro.

And FFS stop saying you "almost got hit" by one.

Nope, they are are a nightmare. I counted 25 of them by the King Street metro the other day, piled up on top of one another all over the sidewalk. I saw several on the Parkway bike path south of OT this weekend (what were they even doing there). I never, ever see a kid wearing a helmet on one. In a placed that regulates store signage, paint colors, political sign placements, I cannot understand why the city is so lax on these scooters. I wonder what the kickback is.

When you rode your scooter over to Del Ray, where did you leave it? How long do you think it just laid there until it was picked up, or did you even care?

+1
They're trashing up areas like Alexandria. Just because the first PP hasn't seen piles of them doesn't mean those piles aren't there.

And in DC Ive seen many tourists people ride them two to a scooter. Weaving and wobbling and laughing. I've seen riders who nearly rode right into intersections without stopping -- because they didn't seem to know how to slow the scooter down. You can say the problem is the riders and not the concept of having the scooters but at least in tourist areas most riders are going to be tourists paying little attention and just having fun. In places like bike lanes with which they've got zero experience. I wonder what regular cyclists on DC bike lanes and the bike paths around Alexandria think of them.

Oh, and advocates for people who use wheelchairs or who have other mobility issues have been quoted in articles complaining how scooters block sidewalks when left there. But in fairness, that also applies to docklesd bike share bikes.