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| Note: The scooter can go uphill (actually to the top into Ed. Hill neighborhoods) and it fits on this particular sidewalk. |
As part of the Redmond Transportation Master Plan, bicycle and e-scooter "sharing" support the City’s vision to improve travel choices and mobility. The scooters will give Redmond travelers micromobility options as the average trip in Redmond is 2.2 miles, which is about a 15-minute bike or scooter ride." (C.O.R.); vitally important when light rail arrives in 2024.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT on February 24th 2020 reporter Kristina Moy of the Post Intelligencer wrote: "2019 was a banner year for Lime Redmond. And thanks to its riders, Lime Redmond hit several milestones. Last year, 17,000 unique riders (or the equivalent of 1/4 of the population of Redmond) rode a scooter in Redmond in less than 6 months of operation and 30.9% of riders reported their last scooter trip replaced a car trip. This means that Redmond scooter riders took 21,057 miles of car travel of Redmond roads in 2019." Ecstasy, lousy reporting or propaganda? I don't trust Lime.
On February 24, 2020, Ms. Moy reported Lime Redmond expects to surpass its 2019 milestones with the addition of Group Ride which will allow riders to unlock up to five scooters on the same host account and Lime Pass, a discounted subscription pass. Have you seen Group Ride?
Well, apparently Lime, and Redmond commuters had a very good year in 2019 though I don't recall seeing more than a dozen riders then; and around four this year. Most all riders were in their 20's or under; just like today. It appears scooters aren't used at all for commuting, rather mostly for recreation. Why do we see these Limes scattered around the City and in our neighborhoods? Is the City trying to condition us? Educate us?
Light rail won't arrive for more than three years. The city planner seems too far ahead of himself. In my opinion, he's justifying his job.
SAFETY: You can't talk about Limes without thinking of safety. The following are serious concerns:
1) Helmets "shall be worn." 97% don't. When the City gets serious about Limes I suggest they beef up their bicycle police force to warn or enforce the $30 fine.
2) My wife and I saw a mother scootering down 164th with her 3-year old hanging onto the stem. No comment.
3) Allowing scooters to share sidewalks with pedestrians makes walking uncomfortable and dangerous.
4) Maintenance: If you ever biked the Sammamish River Trail you'd know the value a bell has for safety. I noticed on a downtown walk a few didn't work; it makes you wonder what else needs fixing and maintaining.
Urban micromobilty with scooters will be vital when light rail comes to Redmond. It's good the City is being proactive in preparing for that "big moment." Currently, Lime ridership is terribly weak, even with this good weather. Next year should be more of the same, though post-pandemic behaviors must be considered. Now is not the time to collect data from pilot programs. ndemic commuting behaviors
Traffic congestion and parking isn't so severe that Limes are needed for mitigation. Light rail won't be here until 2024. We have ample time to stop this experiment and study other cities' programs launching LIME in 2023.
-- Bob Yoder, opinion
Photo, Bob
4/20/2021
Unless specified by law scooters follow the same rules as road bikes. They are meant to be ridden on bike friendly streets, bike lanes and trails, not pedestrian sidewalks. The issue of scooters being left around the city requires an evaluation of the Lime Juicer program. Juicers are gig workers paid to collect, charge and redistribute scooters to designated drop off locations every night. Dock free scooters must be within a designated area to be relocked by the rider. For Redmond this boundary is North to 124th, East to Perrigo Park/Old Brick Road and West to132nd and excludes the Sammamish Slogh trail and Marymoore Park. Scooters that are left outside of the designated boundary are rendered unrideable and appear on the Juicers app as a move task with a higher payout. In 2019 Redmond ridership was high and so was competition to be a Juicer. The Microsoft campuses were prime areas for scooter collection and use. Then the pandemic happened, Lime removed all scooters and commuters began working remotely. Juicers moved onto new gig work opportunities (Doortrash/Uber Eats/Grubhub) that pay substantially more. Now Lime scooters have returned but their Juicers haven't so you're seeing an influx of scoots scattered around the city. If a scooter is parked improperly or for a prolonged amount of time you can report it to Lime through their app (Help/Improper Parking). This will flag the scooter and increase the payout (from $3 to $10) to incentive a Juicer to reposition it. This is why Marymoore isn't littered with scooters. It's a designated no parking area and Juicers receive premium pay to collect scooters left there.
ReplyDelete-- Kelly Zyph, Facebook comment
This is some really valuable information.
ReplyDelete