Milwaukee Scooter Crash Spurs Calls For Tougher Scooter Rules

People walk past electric scooters parked on a sidewalk Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in downtown Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Some Wisconsin communities are considering placing restrictions on electric bikes and scooters.

Waukesha’s Common Council could soon discuss an ordinance to regulate the use of e-bikes and e-scooters in the city. The mayor of Muskego said a city committee may draft a measure aimed at limiting the use of e-transportation devices there.

The West Bend Common Council just passed an ordinance banning people over 16 from riding e-bikes on city sidewalks. The police chief for the city of Chetek in Barron County also recently announced e-scooters and golf carts are banned from operating on county roads within the city.

Meanwhile, a Milwaukee man was hospitalized this week after he was hit by someone riding a Lime scooter in downtown Milwaukee. The person who hit the man has been charged with second degree reckless injury, a felony. A criminal complaint said he was riding the scooter on the sidewalk.

That incident prompted Milwaukee Alder Robert Bauman to push for a review of “safety protocols in our scooter program.”

“I have to say, I wasn’t particularly surprised, because this has been a potentiality since the day scooters were introduced in Milwaukee,” Bauman said.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson announces the start of the 2022-2023 Milwaukee electric scooter pilot study on Sept. 9, 2022. Evan Casey/WPR

In Muskego, Mayor Rick Petfalski said there has been a “huge uptick in the last year of the use of all types of e-transportation throughout the community.”

Petfalski said most people are operating e-bikes safely. But he said some young people are now riding e-motos, which do not have pedals and can travel at high speeds.

“They almost look like a little motorcycle,” Petfalski said. “There’s been a large amount of these that have been popping up throughout the community in the last year.”

Petfalski said a city committee could soon draft an ordinance that could limit where e-transportaton devices are allowed.

“It’s only a matter of time before, if we don’t do anything, before someone gets hurt, either the rider of the e-moto or innocent pedestrian or somebody on a regular bike or just walking down one of the trails,” he said.

In the city of Waukesha, Mayor Alicia Halvensleben said a common council committee will be meeting soon to discuss specific regulations around e-bikes and e-scooters. Halvensleben said she saw what happened in Milwaukee this week.

“I don’t want to see that happen here in Waukesha,” Halvensleben said. “I just want to make sure that everyone is safe, and sometimes that means that we have to put in some additional regulations.”

In early June, the West Bend Common Council passed an e-bike ordinance, which says that, “No user over the age of 16 years shall operate an electric bike on permitted sidewalks,” with the exception of a sidewalk that, “has been designated as a recreational trail,” or “For the sole purpose of accessing a crosswalk, recreational trail, or parking lot.”

A news post on the city website said riders who are 16-years-old and younger can still ride e-bikes on the sidewalk.

“Our goal is to ensure the health and safety of residents and visitors, not to prohibit electric bicycles,” West Bend Police Chief Tim Dehring said in the news post. “These bikes are heavier and faster than traditional bicycles, which can create hazards for pedestrians when they’re operated on sidewalks. At the same time, we do want to be conscientious of our younger riders and keeping them out of the street.”

Under Wisconsin law, e-bikes have three different classes.

“According to state statute, e-bikes and e-scooters are considered vehicles on Wisconsin roads, which means they must follow the same traffic laws although Wisconsin DMV does not require a driver license or registration for either one,” a news post from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation said. “Always check before riding on a sidewalk or bike path and refer to the Department of Natural Resources for information on riding e-bikes on state trails.”

“Local ordinances may have additional rules for e-bikes and e-scooters,” the news post added.

Milwaukee alder wants review of city scooter program

The city of Milwaukee has an electric scooter rental program. Last year, riders used the Lime scooters for 1.2 million trips in the city, according to an annual report.

There were 266 scooter program complaints reported to the city’s Department of Public Works last year, with 16 percent of those complaints regarding sidewalk riding.

Bauman said sidewalk riding has been “rampant” in Milwaukee.

“Now we’ve seen what can result from that,” he said.

Kelly Harrop, Senior Regional Lead of Government Relations for Lime, said the company lets users know that riding on sidewalks is prohibited in Milwaukee.

“Lime communicates that to riders through multiple channels, including in-app reminders, our in-app safety quiz- which requires users to affirm they will not ride on sidewalks- as well as stickers on every scooter stating that sidewalk riding is not allowed,” Harrop said in the statement.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he reached out to the city’s Department of Public Works after he watched the video of the incident. He said he still believes the city should have an electric scooter program.

“It still has value, it still has importance, but if there’s any other ways in which we can make it safer for … the users of it, but then also for pedestrians as well,” Johnson said.

Some Wisconsin communities considering restrictions on use of e-scooters, e-bikes was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.