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I think scooters are fast enough in my experience to be in the bike lane or on the right side of the road with bikes as in many US cities. They DO NOT belong on

I think scooters are fast enough in my experience to be in the bike lane or on the right side of the road with bikes as in many US cities. They DO NOT belong on the side walk. I think re bikes on the sidewalk, I'm mostly in favor of a maximum speed limit for sidewalks, as well as general rules regarding if the sidewalk is full of people. I am a cyclist though in a US city with a load of "share the road" signs but few bike lanes and shitty drivers, so I find the sidewalk is safe in certain parts, and of course, no one walks in the US. I walk much less nowadays because I find it's safer for me if I bike.

LyndsySimon 8y ago
After spending a few days in Santa Monica and using Birds, I mostly agree. Scooters can be used safely on sidewalks, but many people - probably most - don’t do that. They go as fast as they can. The only thing close to a close call I had in three days was a kid running out from around the corner of a building. I was able to stop in time, but to be fair I was in a roadway, not on a sidewalk, and I had slowed because I saw a blind corner coming up. A bicycle or car would have had a harder time stopping than I did, for that matter. I also got to see a guy clothesline himself on a tree limb in Westwood. That looked like it hurt.
- dijit 8y ago
  I just left Santa Monica yesterday and I saw the “birds” and the “lime-s” scooters. For the most part people were good with them, but that could be due to the fact you need a drivers license to operate them. In contrast, in Sweden you would not need a drivers license for them, however due to the cycling infrastructure they would very likely be safe, people already drive petrol based mopeds on the cycling infrastructure with no license and do not get into accidents. So I would argue that such devices would “live with the bikes” on any cycle infrastructure that exists, but otherwise on the roads. I wouldn’t enjoy sharing a walk path with a motor vehicle, nor would I enjoy riding an electric scooter on the road. I feel like we should be pushing for more cycle ways if we want to be able to use this type of thing safely.
  - LyndsySimon 8y ago
    Yeah, I was really surprised at the lack of back lanes in Santa Monica. There are some, but not enough. People did treat them mostly like bikes. Bikes aren't allowed on the sidewalks either, but that's where many people ride them.

LyndsySimon 8y ago

After spending a few days in Santa Monica and using Birds, I mostly agree. Scooters can be used safely on sidewalks, but many people - probably most - don’t do that. They go as fast as they can. The only thing close to a close call I had in three days was a kid running out from around the corner of a building. I was able to stop in time, but to be fair I was in a roadway, not on a sidewalk, and I had slowed because I saw a blind corner coming up. A bicycle or car would have had a harder time stopping than I did, for that matter. I also got to see a guy clothesline himself on a tree limb in Westwood. That looked like it hurt.

dijit 8y ago
I just left Santa Monica yesterday and I saw the “birds” and the “lime-s” scooters. For the most part people were good with them, but that could be due to the fact you need a drivers license to operate them. In contrast, in Sweden you would not need a drivers license for them, however due to the cycling infrastructure they would very likely be safe, people already drive petrol based mopeds on the cycling infrastructure with no license and do not get into accidents. So I would argue that such devices would “live with the bikes” on any cycle infrastructure that exists, but otherwise on the roads. I wouldn’t enjoy sharing a walk path with a motor vehicle, nor would I enjoy riding an electric scooter on the road. I feel like we should be pushing for more cycle ways if we want to be able to use this type of thing safely.
- LyndsySimon 8y ago
  Yeah, I was really surprised at the lack of back lanes in Santa Monica. There are some, but not enough. People did treat them mostly like bikes. Bikes aren't allowed on the sidewalks either, but that's where many people ride them.