Badly parked Lime e-scooters posing a trip hazard for the visually impaired have prompted a plea for action in Dunedin.
The call came from Simon Fogarty, a Blind Foundation member, as he addressed city councillors during this week's Dunedin City Council public forum.
Mr Fogarty told the meeting that, as a blind person, Lime e-scooters were ''a pain in the arse - and every other part of the body''.
He was still recovering from a fall about a month ago, caused by tripping over a parked Lime scooter, which left him with a sprained back and shoulders.
At present, some riders were leaving scooters parked in the middle of footpaths, and the devices could be easily knocked over, creating a trip hazard for pedestrians, he said.
More regulations were needed, and quickly, to control the use and parking of such devices in Dunedin, he argued.
Geo-fencing was already used to discourage e-scooter parking inside the University of Otago campus, and a similar approach should be required by the council to force riders to park them in other geo-fenced parts of the city, he said.
''This is Dunedin city. You guys need to come up with the rules for the city,'' he told councillors.
His views were echoed by Chris Ford, of Disabled Persons Assembly Dunedin, who said he did not want to see such transport options banned - just ''fully regulated'' for safety.
He was disappointed by the process followed to date, and said at present the devices still posed a significant risk to people.
Those capable of travelling above a certain speed should be reclassified as vehicles, riders required to wear safety equipment and operators charged a fee by the council, he added.
The council is already considering changes to e-scooter rules in Dunedin as part of a review of its mobile trading bylaw, and both men said they wanted their views to be included in that process.
Council chief executive Sue Bidrose said the council was also in regular discussions with Lime's representatives about the ideas raised by Messrs Fogarty and Ford.
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Comments
Agree, They litter the footpaths and thereby create obstacles especially for many a disabled, or elderly, an young mother with prams or marshaling children. It is a poor response from DCC allowing this preference of footpath use to the scooters at the inconvenience and danger of other footpath users.
Things like this are warranted for discussion however because this is being discussed at this late stage says a lot of things about the DCC's management team Mayor and CEO but I must say it appears on par for the Cull, Bidrose, Hawkins and Pope. they appear to never listen or provide answers. Bidrose has a MOU with Lime has anybody seen it. I still don't get why NZTA is not the big umbrella for all of NZ so there is one set of rule for all not a mashup of different rules. There has been a lot of articles in the ODT on Limes with Comments , posts to FB how to do things better yet the arrogant Council members mentioned above are that self important and don't care about Dunedin or its people. The sad thing it is just not on Limes it appears everything they try and manage. I do understand you can't please everybody but this is health and safety for the people of Dunedin, Hold Cull and Bidrose accountable. Time to sweep Dunedin Council clean for new people , including the over paid CEO.
Lime scooters are a safety issue and should be banned from the CBD (Filleul street to Cumberland and Moray Place to Great King street ) Some Users of these have no respect or even care about pedestrians or traffic rules.I stopped a young man last week speeding along Gordon Road in Mosgiel ,I asked him what age he was and was informed he was 16 and that he had looked into the age limit and was quite legal to ride the scooter . On returning home I googled the age limit for Lime scooters which is 18 years . There is no policing of these vehicles (and they are a vehicle ....A vehicle (from Latin: vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo.These are also listed as a Vehicle under the LTSA. So why are these not being Policed ?I think perhaps since the DCC are removing a bulk amount of Parking in the Central city the parking wardens will have less work so they could then issue tickets to lime users whom abuse the rules.
Mr T, The police gave a gentleman a fine last week on a mobility scooter, I believe it was for going to fast on the foot path so they have set the stage wrt fines. The police in Brisbane are more proactive, handing out tickets to lime riders for speed, no helmets and annoying walking public. All Cull, councillors and the ever so highly paid CEO appears to have done if tick and flick the approval or any say so on Limes, hoping everything will be ok, about time they understand the people of Dunedin are not idiots. They all need a kick up the backside and a flick out of the positions they hold. for they are not worthy of such a position. Somebody should round up all the limes, cable time them all to gather and dump them outside Culls and Bidrose Office door. and see how they like it .
I was walking on the footpath and a young man on a lime scooter stopped and gave way to me, so it's not all Lime users who abuse the rules.