While it’s common to see bike racks, PeaceHealth stations and bike lanes around the University of Oregon, the landscape of its sidewalks may soon change.
In 2017, a new form of transportation emerged in the United States: electric scooters. These micro-mobility devices took hold in many cities, one of those being Portland. Now, the city of Eugene is working to bring e-scooters here as an alternative form of transportation.
“We are currently going through a public process to look at what kinds of criteria the city should use to determine which scooter companies to allow to operate in the city of Eugene,” said Rob Inerfeld, transportation planning manager for the city of Eugene.
“The idea is that sometime early next year we would put out a request for proposals to electric scooter companies, and then we would ultimately invite one or more of them to operate electric scooters here in Eugene,” Inerfeld said.
Helmets are mandated by state law for people under the age of 16, and usage will be enforced in the same manner for scooters as for bikes.
The policy changes are part of the city’s Climate Recovery Ordinance, a set of goals put forward by the City of Eugene to reduce fossil fuel emissions. According to the City’s website, the ordinance states that, by 2030, Eugene community fossil fuel use needs fall to 50% of 2010 levels. Additionally, the number of trips made by transit, bicycling or walking aim to be tripled.
“In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, people either need to drive more fuel-efficient vehicles or they need to drive less,” Inerfeld said. “So having electric scooters as an option in Eugene is part of encouraging people to choose to drive less and use other modes of transportation.”
The rise of electric scooters hasn’t been without criticism, however. People with disabilities, for instance, can have an incredibly difficult time navigating streets and sidewalks with potential new and ever-changing hazards.
For Fiona Wilcox, co-director of AccessAbility Student Union, a disability awareness group at the University of Oregon, e-scooters are more of a fun party trick with real safety issues.
“I don’t see these scooters having a positive impact for folks with disabilities,” Wilcox said. “I think it is a very real thing that these scooters’ existence in time and space creates a hazard for someone with a disability attempting to navigate that same time and space.”
Back in early 2019, a disability rights group sued the City of San Diego, as well as three other scooter companies in a class action lawsuit, alleging that people who use wheelchairs or walkers and people with significant visual impairments were unable to travel freely or safely on sidewalks.
Eugene has put forward ideas on how to mitigate such hazards. The FAQ section of the city’s website proposes that locks could help ensure scooters won’t unintentionally fall over, serial numbers could let people report users who have left their scooters in hazardous locations and users could be charged if they leave their scooter in an undesignated parking area.
But in Wilcox’s experience so far, other cities have not been so accommodating.
“I’m from Portland, and every time I’ve been home since they’ve came to town, I have tripped on at least a couple,” she said. “For what it’s worth, I know non-disabled folks who have too.”
The pilot program is still in the planning phase, with an expected launch in spring or summer 2020. For now, the city is taking suggestions in a survey open to the public, which will help decide how to they evaluate permit applications.
