Scooters seem to be taking over the streets of Scottsdale. Last December the city wrote their first set of laws for the speed machines. As scooters become a bigger debate in communities, laws may be changing again. 

Electric scooters seem to be gaining more and more popularity among communities. Scottsdale alone has six companies operating scooters in the town. Many people enjoy using them for riding around the fashion square mall, getting to work or simply just for fun. Jordan Murray, an avid user said “it just gets me through the city faster than using any public transportation”. 

Scottsdale offers many ways of public transportation, one of those being bicycles. The more scooters grow, the less popular bikes have become. “If you’re trying to lose weight I would prefer a bike but to get through the city faster I prefer a scooter,” said Murray.

Brent Stockwell, the Assistant City Manager of Scottsdale said, “As far as shared devices go, the scooters have replaced bikes”. 

Last December, Scottsdale passed the Ordinance 4372. This law was the first to give restrictions and rules to electric scooters. Some of these rules include governing safety operations, safe speeds, no reckless riding, no riding while intoxicated and unsafe parking. Many people think there should be more laws regarding scooters. Robert Vincent said, “potentially I mean they’re out of control but they’re fun”. 

Stockwell said “we are planning on proposing revisions to that ordinance by the end of this calendar year”. What those changes will be is not yet clear. Many citizens want new laws on parking, even though the scooter companies “will give you a fine” for restricted parking said, Murray. 

According to Stockwell “illegal parking and unsafe operations.” is the main problem Scottsdale residents have with the scooters. Many are left unattended on streets, sidewalks and near homes. There has also been a spike in accidents caused by these scooters nation-wide. There have been 11 deaths caused by electric scooters since 2018. These are simply caused by people recklessly driving them or not following the rules.  

Luckily, “the Scottsdale Police Department enforces this ordinance and has issued citations for unsafe operations as well as illegal parking,” said Stockwell. 

Although scooters are a hot topic of debate people like Vincent said: “keep them”. Many community members are hoping to see stricter laws in place by December. Hopefully, a solution to the scooter epidemic is coming soon.