Thursday 28 March 2024
9.5 C
Nottingham

Council could ban e-scooters on some city roads because of ‘pavement riding’

E-scooters could be banned from certain roads in Nottingham to stop people riding irresponsibly on the pavements.

Roads such as Derby Road in Lenton where there have been multiple complaints are being analysed by Nottingham City Council.

Using virtual boundaries known as geo-fences, the scooter will automatically stop working once it enters one of the designated roads and riders will have to find an alternative route.

This comes after the trial of the yellow rentable Wind scooters was extended until November 2022.

Despite the scooters being popular and providing a cleaner and greener way to travel around the city, they are not without concerns.

- Advertisement -

Residents have complained about pavements being blocked and near misses when a scooter almost collides with them.

There have also been concerns by people with mobility issues and the visually impaired.

Now, Cllr Rosemary Healy (Lab), portfolio holder for transport and highways, says she is working with the operators Wind to sort out the problems.

There are currently 750 scooters in Nottingham with the potential to increase the number to 1,000.

But Cllr Healy said there are no plans to reach that number during the trial as problems need to be ironed out.

She said: “There has been a lot of concerns raised by people and far too many complaints with scooters on pavements and we need to target these areas.

“We can put geo-fencing on pavements where we get complaints, and they will lock out. It won’t work on certain pavements or will slow down.

“There has been lots of complaints about Derby Road and we need to look at what we can do to make that area safer.

“We need to map out the complaints and try education first and then try geo-fencing.

“Derby Road will be an area to start with and see if it works then roll it out to other areas where education has not worked.”

Cllr Healy said this is about improving the “safety record of scooters” which now have more than 35,000 people signed up to the scheme and 5,000 rides taking place a day.

There will be monthly meetings where complaints and enforcement are analysed, with the aim of reducing the number of concerns raised.

The council now has six members of staff targeting hotspots for pavement riding, which is not allowed under the scheme, or bad parking and there is a three-strike discipline process.

A first strike is a warning text message, the second is a one-week ban, and the third is a complete ban.

In July, it was reported that 12 people had received permanent bans, with 40 people banned temporarily.

Almost 1,000 people have also been given warnings.

Currently, there is a £7.50 fine to riders who leave any scooter abandoned and not within the parking bays provided. This fine is set to be increased.

Cllr Healy said: “We have a meeting in November to look at proposals for fines. We don’t think a fine will stop people abandoning scooters but will encourage them to park them correctly.

“Personally, I would like to see the fine at £10 but we will see what the advice is. It is far too low when you consider it is 12p a minute to ride a scooter, so the cost of your ride is not that great because you only use it for short trips. £7.50 is not enough.”

The council will also look at trialling a phone app for visually impaired people which lets them know when a scooter is approaching or nearby.

“We need to work with Wind to overcome the issues. This is not just a commercial venture. It is a sense of community responsibility which they do take onboard.

“If we get this right then we will accept a new form of transport that works really well to get to places where buses do not run, which is green and cheap.

“But not if it continues to be such an issue with safety.”

Follow The Wire on TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram. Send your story to newsdesk@westbridgfordwire.com or via WhatsApp on 0115 772 0418

Categories:
 

Latest