HP Bans Electric Scooters

Better keep those electric scooters out of Highland Park. A newly amended town ordinance bans them.

The ban applies to both the rental scooters that have entered the Dallas market in recent months and individually-owned ones if any.

Town leaders cited safety concerns. The rental scooters are ridden standing up and can approach speeds of 15 miles per hour.

“They are a danger on the sidewalk,” council member Eric Gambrell said. “They are a danger on the street.”

Gambrell also objected to a business model that relies on using public property as a staging area without permission and reimbursement.

To warn operators and their customers about the prohibition, town staff plans to install signs at town entry points near the Dallas city limits.

The scooter ban was added to the ordinance governing dockless rental bikes. The bike-sharing ordinance prohibits placement of bikes for rent in the town and provides for impoundment and fines for those left by a vendor or its customers.

“To date, the operators of the bicycles have not been too ambitious about recovering them [from impoundment],” town attorney Matthew Boyle said.

The amended ordinance extends the prohibitions on rental bikes to cover electric-powered bicycles, which town leaders predict will be entering the market soon.

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William Taylor

William Taylor, editor of Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People, shares a name and a birthday with his dad and a love for community journalism with his colleagues at People Newspapers. He joined the staff in 2016 after more than 25 years working for daily newspapers in such places as Alexandria, Louisiana; Baton Rouge; McKinney; San Angelo; and Sherman, though not in anywhere near that order. A city manager once told him that “city government is the best government” because of its potential to improve the lives of its residents. William still enjoys covering municipal government and many other topics. Follow him on Twitter @Seminarydropout. He apologizes in advance to the Joneses for any angry Tweets that might slip out about the Dallas Cowboys during the NFL season. You also can reach him at [email protected]. For the latest news, click here to sign up for our newsletter.

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