The Chainlink

Dear Seasoned Chicago Cyclists,
Please try to impart the patience and compassion you would have for a first time bike commuter. Having experienced the roll out in DC and already had one scooter fatality, there's definitely a concern about safety. Basically, scooter users will likely be pedestrians (not cyclists) turned scooter riders so they won't know the ins and outs like a seasoned cyclist. Think first time Divvy user. So yes, you'll see them on the sidewalks (even though they aren't supposed to), bike lanes, and streets. Lots of patience will be necessary. While scooters can be a good addition to the non-car commuter, they do pose risks to themselves (mostly) and other vulnerable users of the roads.

Here's an article with the details of the scooter roll-out:

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2019/06/11/ready-or-not-10-different-sc...

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Hmm, doorways and “elevator door sills” at 6mph give me pause, but i guess we’ll just have to see what the 85th% think!

Scooters are OK with me, with one caveat.  Since private companies are using public space for parking (at bike racks and on sidewalks), the city should be getting some compensation for that.  Ideally, the comopensation would be used to improve sidewalks and install more bike raks.

Wow. I can't believe they would allow any kind of vehicle on the road that could result in injury or even death. What are they thinking!?

Ha. Exactly.

Also "police won't actively enforce, but they could ticket you if you are riding on the sidewalk."

This is the same approach they take to vehicles blocking bike lanes, and we all know how well that works. 

I predict that the big trouble will be limited to Chinatown. ;)

Of course. Yeah, with all that smashing and tossing in nearest body of water, let's see how this drama plays out and how we must share the road with these new modes of transport.

There needs to be a LIKE button for deep pulls like this.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/6/14/18679336/electric-scooters-c...

"the scooters can be parked in bike racks ... !"   Trouble !

Still there since Saturday never used. Now knocked over into the curb.  Never been picked up over night (10pm-5am) to be cleared from the street and recharged.

Sight seen: Children ~12yrs old riding rented electric scooters by their parents to play with going full speed ~15mph on the sidewalks from the neighborhoods into the business areas!

I saw this happening in Louisville a few weeks ago as well. Was pretty surprised to see parents unlocking scooters for their kids to play with while they sat at an outdoor cafe eating and drinking as their 10-15 y.o. kids zipped up and down the (busy) sidewalks for hours, jumping them off of curbs, crashing into each other, etc. I will say, the kids and parents seemed to be having a great time and no one got hurt, but it was annoying. 

I have no idea what the solution is here. I don't think Chicago police are really going to enforce sidewalk riding (and aren't kids allowed to ride bikes on sidewalks anyway?) and although parents are clearly violating the terms of service, I'm not sure what scooter companies can do to prevent this.

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