Kokomo Standard

City Council Adopts E-Scooter Ordinance

On a 4-2 vote, the Huntington Common Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night clearing the way for a shared electric scooter service and updating rules for their safe operation on the city’s streets, sidewalks and trails.

Ordinance 7-C-22 applies to both privately owned and commercially operated e-scooters. It goes into effect immediately.

Anyone riding an e-scooter on a public roadway should obey all traffic control signs, signals and laws. The ordinance sets a maximum speed for e-scooter operation at 17 miles per hour within the city, and riders must be 16 or older with a valid form of identification showing their age.

On city sidewalks and trails, e-scooter riders should:

• Obey all traffic laws.
• Yield to all pedestrians.
• Slow down in congested areas.
• Provide contact information in the event of an accident.

In the Downtown District – the area bounded by Warren and Cherry streets to the east and west and by Park Drive and State Street to the north and south – riders must slow down to a top speed of 4 miles per hour when riding on a city sidewalk.

E-scooters, whether owned by a company or an individual, cannot be parked on any street or alleyway. An e-scooter can be parked on sidewalks in an upright position so long as it:

• Does not lean on any structure or building.
• Leaves a clear path at least 48 inches wide for pedestrians and others to pass.
• Does not obstruct a parking space, loading zone, curb ramp, building entrance or exit, fire hydrant, emergency call box, utility box, driveway, crosswalk entry or exit, or access to a crosswalk button.

Companies may obtain an annual license from the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office to deploy e-scooters in the city. Among guidelines adopted in the ordinance, companies must maintain liability insurance, keep their e-scooters in safe working condition and report data regarding any accidents or crashes.

The City of Huntington anticipates that a shared electric scooter service will help increase mobility across the city while providing a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to traveling by car.

Original source can be found here.