I just came back from my third trip to Israel. Walking down the street in Tel Aviv has become dangerous. Why? Because of the preponderance of e-scooters and e-bikes. What a hazard! I trust cars there far more as they always stop for people. And what a pleasure that is! But not scooters or e-bikes. People have gotten killed and I was hit in the back four days ago. The riders pay no attention to the rules of the road. With NYC being far more populous, I can't even imagine the havoc these unecessary modes of transportation will cause.
Who would use them to ride on crowded streets? Not people who normally use cars. So any claim of them benefiting the environment is ridiculous.
I own an electric bicycle, it’s very fast even at 20 mph, you could easily hurt yourself.
But I am undeniably against scooters the small wheels are dangerous and hit obstructions and face planting a real hazard.
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Ban bikes, scooters, pick-up trucks and SUVs from our streets and offer sanity to our people.
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... from the streets of our big cities and offer sanity to our people.
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So the state lawmakers who drive everywhere (or are driven everywhere is probably more like it) are approving ways to make the streets even more dangerous for pedestrians and drivers. Another groups of people who, if they hit somebody because they don't believe that traffic laws apply to them, will get away with it because there's no license or any other way to identify them. I work in downtown Manhattan and people on bikes (their own and citibikes) zig zag in and out of traffic, especially when it's not their light and nothing is done. This is NYC - a walking and driving city - always has been and always should be. Bikes and scooters should be for the suburbs or upstate.
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Regular bicycles in NYC are very dangerous. Permitting E-bikes is not a good decision, not with the failure by the police to enforce the law against cyclists. E-scooters are worse.
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Scooters are completely unsafe. As dangerous as bicycles are, they are safer than scooters. There is no need for scooters. You can wear roller skates, roller blades or use a motorbike. Ban them.
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Has anyone walking down 8th Avenue in the late afternoon? Pedestrians overflowing into the bike lane, irate bikers on the verge of mowing down pedestrians, pedestrians acting as if they can walk anywhere. For god sakes, we can even follow the rules for cross the streets on red.
Now we are going to add yet another menace that will jostle with automobiles, bikers and pedestrians! Sounds like total chaos.
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" Along the way, I’ve discovered the Eastern Gray to be one of the coolest, most intelligent animals with a really sweet sense of humor. It’s a sentient being. And it’s there, right in front of us.” Unless it is in your bird feeder!! I am watching one right now trying to jump to my 8 feet high feeder. It's a baby. I've had adults easily jump that high. As for the count> I'm skeptical. We have at least 1000 out back!
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E-scooters came to Atlanta about a year ago. I only hope New York does a better job of considering the impact the scooters can have ahead of time than Atlanta did and not have to try to put the e-scooter genie back in the bottle to some extent.
In Atlanta, the scooters are only supposed to be used by people 18 and older, and they're not supposed to be on sidewalks, among other things. In reality, neither rule is enforceable because who's going to suggest we take police off far more important duties to monitor and ticket people for infractions. A couple of weeks ago, the city said they would start cracking down on scooters on sidewalks with up to $1,000 fines. It seems to have moved a few scooters to the street, which is good but is it safe for scooter riders?
One of my gripes is that some people putting the scooters out for rent and those using the scooters leave them scattered everywhere so that you have to step over and around them a lot. I'm lucky enough to be able to walk most everywhere, so I spend a fair amount of time moving scooters out of the way of other walkers and those who would have trouble making their way around the scooters (people in wheelchairs, parents with kids in strollers, etc.).
I think Atlanta now has four e-scooter companies, so just imagine the clutter.
City leaders in Atlanta and elsewhere need to do their homework beforehand so they fully understand the impact - good and bad - of such an undertaking.
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Will there be clear rules posted that ban these devices from sidewalks? It would be nice to see a very clear posting of rules of the road on these devices.
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@Regan
How will the rules of the road be enforced??
The rules of the road exist now for non-electric bicycles and those rules are flaunted more than they are obeyed.
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Flouted. But I agree.
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@B. Thanks B from Brooklyn. I stand corrected. Great catch...and I learned something new.
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I have sympathy for hard-working and exploited delivery people and understand the desire for electric bicycles. Hopefully they will adhere to lights, traffic.
But electric scooters are already in use and a disaster.....
Scooter users endanger pedestrians and vehicles. Scooter users are particularly egregious in ignoring traffic lights, weaving in front of pedestrians and vehicles etc. Scooter users slow traffic. And watch out when vehicles have to swerve or stop short because of a weaving scooter user or cyclist.
Scooter users are former mass transit users, not former car drivers. So bus and subway ridership will go down, leading to service cuts.
The real way to reduce vehicles?
Cut development, Uber and ecommerce delivery.
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Having family and friends in Europe I've watched this story unfurl across the Atlantic with a growing sense of dread knowing that E-bikes and scooters would eventually end up here and it would only be a matter of time before the first accidents or worse, fatalities.
And it's not the fault of these devices but the people who use them -- as anyone who has almost been run over by a cyclist pack in Central Park will tell you.
Thankfully we won't have to contend with this here in Manhattan, but that still doesn't mean we're in the clear.
Watch your step.
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Gersh Kuntzman points out in the interview: “Those bikes, he said, “give you a little bit of a boost.” “You can get to work without being sweaty,” he added. “These are concerns people have.”
Tune of “I Sing the Body Electric” (still celebrating Walt Whitman’s 200th all month after all)
We sing the scooter electric
Congestion and pollution reduced
We sweat much less while commuting
And that gives our work day a boost.
When some accidents happen
They’ll scream it’s not fair.
And petition the Council
To make them aware
Then in time, in short time
They’ll no longer care.
Don’t fear the scooter electric
Don’t worry that the law is not wise.
We’re sure they’ll start drafting guidelines
When somebody gets hit and dies.
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Inevitably there will be accidents. Who will pay for the injured parties' medical bills, lost earnings and recompense for injuries?
Due to the motorization, these vehicles have the potential to cause greater harm than ordinary bicycles. These things need to be insured.
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Although it is great that we are diminishing cars, it’s a new physical threat to some. Our infrastructure hasn't reached the point that bikes themselves are a safe mode of transport, unlike cities like Amsterdam. Nowadays, I hear few complaints now from people that were alarmed, and sometimes nearly harmed, when bikes began proliferating, and scooters will likely cause even more incidents. NY residents will need to come to an agreement on 'rules of the road', in addition to whatever legal restrictions exist. Even then, while bikes are restricted to bike lanes or the roadway where no lane existed, scooters will be mingling with people on sidewalks, albeit with lower velocity and mass. Considering Manhattan's mix of pedestrians, tourists that are often clueless and walking abreast, dense areas of people, and a high percentage of senior citizens, the number of clashes will be an issue.
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Will there be a requirement that electric bikes, motor vehicles in essence, be insured?
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While in theory I am not opposed to electric scooters and bikes, as they are currently used pedestrians walk at their peril and drivers of cars drive at their peril. Riders pay absolutely no attention to traffic rules, running red lights, making turns from the wrong lanes, riding the wrong way on one-way streets, riding on sidewalks, etc. with little thought as to others using the space. In London, where I spend a great deal of time, bicyclists obey the same rules as automobiles.
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@NK Yes, the one time I dared to ride my bike in Manhattan, I was dissuaded from further attempts by a deliveryman riding straight at me, going the wrong way in a narrow bike lane.
Also, I fail to see the unlawful discrimination in “delivery workers argued that the bike laws were discriminatory because they were penalized for using the best option to do their job.” Violating the law about one-way bike lanes was also presumably the best option to do his job, but that doesn’t mean we should change that law as well.
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