Fort Mitchell City Council is planning to update the city’s ordinance regulating bicycles and scooters to take into account e-bikes and e-scooters. Alongside this legal change, the city aims to educate citizens about these changes. This is especially relevant during the holiday season, when Fort Mitchell predicts more children could receive those vehicles as gifts.
Fort Mitchell has found their current ordinance regulating these vehicles growing to be irrelevant in the face of rising e-scooter and bike ridership. E-scooters and e-bikes are faster and more powerful than traditional scooters and bikes, so Fort Mitchell wants riders to drive with caution and make sure they are easily visible.
“Our ordinance related to motorized scooters and bicycles is outdated and does not address things like e-scooters which are more prevalent today than ever before,” City Administrator Edwin King said.
With the rise of this technology, local officials are looking into ways to address the safety issues associated with these “micromobility vehicles.”
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, from 2021 to 2022, e-scooter related injuries increased by 22%. Consumer Reports found that riders are more likely to be injured when riding an e-scooter or bike than a regular scooter or bike. There are also concerns for the safety of the pedestrians who share the sidewalk with these vehicles.
At the Dec. 11, 2023 City Council meeting when this issue was discussed, local crossing guard, Patricia Kaiser, presented council with her own observations of what she described as unsafe e-scooter usage on Fort Mitchell streets. She said she has watched riders drive at unsafe speeds and travel before dawn without using a light.
“These children are not obeying traffic rules,” Kaiser said. “How can we address that?”
City Attorney Olivia Amlung has drafted revisions to the ordinance with City Council input. Fort Mitchell will be able to share more about new micromobility vehicle regulations once an ordinance is agreed upon by council. Council also intends to launch an informational campaign intended to communicate the rules and expectations around these vehicles to parents and kids in the city.
“We will be distributing safety tip flyers to the schools to pass out to students,” King said. “We also plan to launch a scooter safety quiz for students to earn scooter safety stickers and possibly other scooter safety instruments like lights or bells upon completion of the quiz. More details about this program will be announced over the next 1-2 months. The whole initiative will be to promote safety on city sidewalks and streets.”
While much of this informational campaign will take place in the near future, Council discussed the fact that many children may be receiving e-scooters and e-bikes as gifts this holiday season. For that reason, they’re interested in getting some of this information out there early.
“Based on Council’s comments, we plan to release some basic safety tips this holiday season for seasoned riders and new riders who may receive a scooter as a gift,” King said. “Basic things that all riders should do: watch their speed, be visible, be alert at intersections, and be mindful of and courteous to other riders and pedestrians.”