Legislators Prepare For E‑Scooter Deluge

Hartford—Electric scooters are coming to New Haven. With the right regulations in place ahead of time, their arrival might not spell chaos and confusion.

State legislators and a local transit official made that pitch in support of a new state bill that would regulate electric foot scooters.

The proposed bill, House Bill (H.B.) 7141, was featured prominently in Wednesday afternoon’s three-and-a-half-hour state Transportation Committee public hearing at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

City transit deputy Michael Pinto made the trip up to the capital city to urge state legislators to support the proposed bill, a 34-page document that seeks to define and impose standards and regulations on ​“electric foot scooters.”

“This technology is coming,” Pinto said. ​“We’ve seen it flood other cities. We simply want to have the tools in place” to make electric scooters a boon to non-drivers in New Haven, and not a messy disturbance.

New Haven is already preparing to welcome a fleet of 75 electric scooters as part of the expansion of the city’s bikeshare program. Meanwhile, there are no explicit scooter regulations on the state or local books,

“This is something where the ambiguity is more challenging for localities and the state if we don’t erect some kind of regulations,” said New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar, House chair of the Transportation Committee. Last year Lemar shepherded to passage regulations on electric bicycles.

The new proposed law defines an ​“electric foot scooter” as a device that weighs no more than 100 pounds; that has two or three wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding; that is powered by an electric motor or human power; and that has a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.

“A person may park an electric foot scooter on any sidewalk provided such electric foot scooter is parked in a manner that does not impede the reasonable movement of pedestrians and other traffic on such sidewalk,” the draft legislation reads, ​“and such parking is not prohibited by any ordinance of any city, town or borough or by any regulations of the Office of the State Traffic Administration issued or adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 14 – 298, as amended by this act.”

Stamford and Darien State Sen. Carlo Leone, Senate chair of the committee, asked Pinto if he is aware of the various problems that other cities have experienced in their adoption of electric scooters. Those problems have included illegal parking, discarded scooters, and scooters left in the middle of the sidewalk, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“This bill will actually help us put in place the regulatory framework that will help us embrace the technology,” Pinto said. ​“We anticipate embracing it, and to do so safely.” He said the city transit staff are working with the city’s disability services office to make sure that e‑scooter stations don’t block pedestrian access on the sidewalks.

He said the city is also considering transitioning bike lanes to ​“slow vehicle lanes,” which could be used by scooters, bicycles, and a variety of other non-car users at speeds no greater than 15 miles per hour.

“It’s a new thing,” Leone said. ​“I’m always open to new thing.” But he is nevertheless worried about unintended consequences that may come from introducing electric scooters en masse in cities and towns throughout the state.

Scott Mullen, the director of expansion for the bikeshare and scootershare company Lime, told the legislators that electric scooters are usually no bigger than 35 pounds, that 10 or 15 can usually fit within a standard parking space, and that cities like Portland, Ore. that have adopted electric scootershare programs have seen significant usage from residents who would otherwise get around town by car.

“They’re small, unassuming vehicles,” Mullen said, but nevertheless capable of encouraging a drastic shift in car-free public mobility.

Lemar said that the committee still needs to mull through the experiences of other cities, and the recommendations from experts and industry players before finalizing the proposed scooter regulations.

“It’s new and unique,” he said about electric scooters. ​“We’re seeing problemss across the country in states that didn’t adopt regulations. So this is a first draft, trying to get us a baseline and standard in place so we don’t see the problems that they’re experiencing in other states.”

The proposed now stays in committee for more revisions. Lemar said the committee would have to vote on the proposed law by March 25 if the members want to pass it along to the full General Assembly for a final vote.

The 2019 Agenda