[A]s a fleet of motorized scooters zipped briefly through the streets of Montpelier last fall, the devices picked up more than passengers. A slew of detractors also jumped on board, and on Wednesday they got a chance to air their grievances on the floor of the Senate.
The issue of scooters came up as part of an amendment to H. 529, a transportation bill. The local issue of scooter regulation came up because Sen. Tim Ashe, the Senate president pro tem, introduced an amendment written by some members of the Senate Transportation Committee authorizing a pilot program that would include some rules and guidelines for the devices.
Ashe faced stiff questioning from his colleagues.
“Is this part of a natural selection plan?” asked Sen. John Rodgers, D-Essex Orleans, who ultimately cast the only “no” vote on the amendment. Rodgers was referring to the danger to pedestrians and riders. According to Ashe, the devices can go up to 25 miles per hour.
Rodgers noted that motorcycle riders in Vermont are required by law to wear helmets. Electric scooter riders have no rules at all.
“We’re going to put untrained people on a tiny two-wheeled scooter and let them ride in traffic, where traffic and speed limits are higher than these scooters are able to maintain,” said Rodgers. “It’s also dangerous for people walking on the sidewalk, I have heard.”
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, said he had heard that in other cities, scooters have created traffic problems.
“Having experienced driving from one end of Montpelier through to the other, I assure you they already have problems without scooters, such as traffic, potholes, bicyclists, people trying to cross the street,” said Sears.
Fleets of electric scooters are starting to appear on many city streets around the country, but their adoption in Vermont is anything but routine. Most of the terrain in the state is uniquely unsuited to the devices, which have tiny wheels.
An experiment with the scooters in Montpelier in October ended prematurely because of early snowfall. The vendor, Bird, decided not to return, said Conor Casey, the City Council member who is promoting scooters in the state’s capital.
“They just felt that a small corner of New England didn’t work for them financially,” Casey said. “Especially if it’s seasonal. They’d have to bring them back and forth.”
Casey said he’s talking this week to a different scooter vendor, Gotcha – the same vendor Burlington has spoken to. He added that some of the public concern about scooters would arise with any new technology.
“If the bicycle had never been invented, and you dropped 100 bicycles into downtown Montpelier, people would say, ‘What the heck are these things?’” he said Wednesday. “There would be confusion, there would be anger.”
Ashe’s interest clearly lay with Burlington, where the Public Works Department has held meetings on the issue and drafted some FAQs concerning the devices.
Any Vermont city can introduce a scooter program at any time. The pilot program, Ashe said, would establish some scooter rules where now there are none. Cities would have from the time of passage through Oct. 31 to conduct the pilot.
“And then when we come back in January, we will have learned from what does or does not transpire on our roadways and sidewalks,” Ashe said.
It’s not clear what rules are set out in the pilot program would; lawmakers referred questions to the Burlington Department of Public Works, which didn’t respond to requests for information on Wednesday.
Sen. Michael Sirotkin, D-Chittenden and another scooter skeptic, said he would support the amendment.
“I have visions of horror about the lakefront this summer, about these cycles running around, and in some ways maybe being encouraged, but I do have some faith in the city government,” he said. “If this passes, it would have some clarity for the city of Burlington and Montpelier.”
Rodgers said after the vote he thinks scooters would alter the feeling of Montpelier.
“The whole persona of this little city is it’s small, it’s walkable, and it’s pedestrian-friendly. A whole bunch of little electric scooters buzzing around in the same space that people are used to walking around peacefully is going to disrupt that feeling,” he said.
He added he’s also motivated by concern for public safety.
“Let’s face it: The streets of Montpelier are not that well-maintained,” he said. “There are potholes and crevasses that would practically eat up a scooter.”
