On High Street this morning, near the intersection with Atwater. A handicapped person in a motorized scooter could not pass by. Shame on the person who placed the scooters like this.
NW corner Henderson and University. Around 11:30 Sunday morning.
NW corner, 2nd and University. Around 11:30 Sunday morning.
2nd Street, not far east of Walnut. Around 11:40 Sunday morning.
Testing
We have called Bird Scooters twice, and asked them to have their "wranglers" not leave 3-4 scooters in front of our house every day. They always apologize, say this will be resolved - and nothing changes. We would like to know what, if anything, we can do about this. Are home owners really just stuck putting up with this? We live in a historic home, and can't paint our front porch without getting permission, yet someone can line up four scooters along our wrought-iron fence without a care. What recourse do we have that the city will support?
Scooters are the latest scourge on Bloomington and it seems that our city officials refuse to directly address the issue. The unenforceable regulations that tie them to bicycles is ridiculous. I walk downtown routinely and each time I have gone downtown I have experiences a scooter whizzing by me on the sidewalk in the "dismount" zone. Motorized vehicles should not be on sidewalks, period. They also continue to litter the downtown and neighborhoods. They lay everywhere and create an unsightly mess all over town. Bloomington is quickly becoming a less desirable city in which to live because of our mayor's and city council's inability to deal with this latest invasion.
701 S Highland--there are 8 scooters here today; none have been taken. They are taking up parking spaces in the street and are an eyesore. If I cannot park my car in front of my own house without buying a permit, are these really allowed to do so? I would like them taken out of the neighborhood--they've been festering for the last week or so, and we are not a scooter-riding neighborhood.
I think the scooters, as currently used, are a bad idea. They are dangerous to riders and pedestrians and pose a hazard to motorists, besides clutter our sidewalks. Environmentally, I think of them as a large-scale manifestation of the American disposable razor mentally. At the very least, they need to be thoughtfully regulated. If not banned entirely, then, as motorized vehicles, they should be confined to streets or bike lanes and obey traffic laws, with fines resulting for violations. While we are at it, bicycles should not be allowed on sidewalks either. I am all for low carbon emissions, but I am not convinced the scooters are a safe and green alternative to walking or biking or taking a bus.
Scooters fully blocking sidewalk crossing at 2nd and Dunn as of 12:30 this afternoon.