City of Lincoln hopes to make e-scooter program permanent
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - An electric scooter network could soon be a permanent fixture in Lincoln. The City is looking to take the structure that worked for a 15-month pilot program and make some improvements and changes.
“We see this as a valid form of transportation for users,” said Roberto Partida, a traffic engineer with the City of Lincoln. “Not only that - there’s an environmental component to it. Twenty-one percent of users indicated that this replaced a vehicle trip.”
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities laid out its findings in a 75-page report. It was revealed more than 25,000 people took just over 91,000 rides. It also brought in about $13,700 in rider fees for the City.
“We were proactive in putting together some rules and regulations to kind of structure how e-scooters could come into Lincoln,” Partida said.
A majority of that pilot program was concentrated in the downtown area. The updated version would work to expand where those scooters’ boundaries would be set. The idea is to hopefully create a more efficient way to get in and out of the downtown area.
“Expanding it a little further south, so hitting more residential neighborhoods as well as further east - thinking the Telegraph District and over into the Malone Neighborhood,” Partida said.
One of the biggest concerns opponents had of the scooters when they were first proposed in 2019 was safety. The report stated there were four total medical calls for accidents and about 150 complaints - mainly about parking.
“Safety is the top priority here with the city and recognizing that we utilized all available channels to really push out our educational material and communicate with potential and existing users the rules when operating an e-scooter and when parking an e-scooter,” Partida said.
Another big complaint was about sidewalk use. Legally, scooters are only supposed to be in the street. The study found 30% of the time people were riding on sidewalks. The City said it wants to enhance messaging about the right way to ride.
LTU said it will take a code change to expand the program. The proposed ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing Monday, March 14 at the Lincoln City Council meeting.
