By DOTTY NIST
After having a moratorium in place on rental of electric scooters and other micromobility devices for a year and a half, Walton County will soon be considering putting a pilot program in place for these devices.
After hearing about a law approved in the 2019 legislative session known as the “Scooter Bill,” the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) had directed legal counsel to look into what options the county would have in view of the new law. The commissioners had been concerned about problems associated with these micromobility devices, particularly electric scooters (e-scooters) in areas that had allowed companies to rent them out. It was reported that some of those areas had discontinued their use after finding the devices to be dangerous.
After hearing from legal counsel in November 2019 that the county would not be able to ban the rental of e-scooters/micromobility devices due to limits placed on local governments by the state legislation, the following month the county had approved a 270-day moratorium on rental of these devices. This was to allow time for the BCC and staff to develop rules to avoid problems caused by rental of micromobility devices in other areas. The moratorium had been renewed for another 270 days in August 2020.
On July 27, 2021, Walton County Planning hosted a public Micromobility Workshop seeking public input on e-scooters/micromobility devices and providing information on a county ordinance in the works that is to provide for a pilot micromobility program and regulate rental micromobility devices.
Kristen Shell, county planning manager, began by showing pictures of the type of scooters that had been the subject of the moratorium and would be involved with the ordinance and pilot program. These are the small electric stand-up scooters.
She pointed out pros and cons of these scooters, pros being that they provide zero-emission travel, take up much less space than a car, and that allowing them may cut down on car traffic. As cons she listed that the pedestrian/bicycle trail in south Walton County, where many of the scooters would be ridden, is overcrowded and already has safety issues associated with it.
Shell noted that in some of the cities where they have been rented out, the scooters have been left discarded, becoming visual clutter.
She discussed that Florida law provides riders of micromobility devices with the same rights as those of bicyclists.
There was good public participation at the workshop, but input on the coming in of rental e-scooters was overwhelmingly negative.
“This is going to be a mess, a complete mess,” said attendee Celeste Cobena.
She and other speakers urged for infrastructure, including condition and safety of the bike path, to be addressed before even thinking about bringing in scooters.
Shell told attendees that Walton County legal counsel had indicated that the moratorium could not be extended again and that the e-scooters could not be banned.
“You have to have a plan,” she said.
Barbara Morano urged for limiting the number of scooters to the minimum. “We do not have to roll over and have five vendors come in,” she said.
Jonathan Paul, county consultant for micromobility, did not disagree. He said he had originally recommended allowing just one scooter vendor, using the competitive process, which could still be done if the BCC so decides. “And they can say, fifty, 100 to start off with,” he said, explaining that the number could then be increased if the scooters prove to not be a problem. He also said that the county would have the ability to withdraw the company’s permit to operate if there are problems.
Shell noted that the pilot micromobility program would essentially control the number of scooter rental companies, the number of scooters rented, and the manner in which they must be docked or returned, along with establishing speed limits and other safety requirements. There is to be a requirement for people renting scooters to be 18 years old or older.
As of Aug. 2 the ordinance that would establish the pilot program had been drafted but had not yet undergone legal counsel review. Shell said that once finalized the draft would be posted on the Walton County website under the Planning and Development Section along with Walton County Mobility Plan Proposed documents.
The pilot program ordinance has been advertised for consideration by the BCC at its 4 p.m. Aug. 10 regular meeting at the Walton County Courthouse. A decision on the ordinance may take place at that time unless there is a delay.