In his Summer newsletter Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced that the extended trial of e-scooters in Wynnum and the Bayside (read our previous article about e-scooters here) was going to be made permanent given the clear ongoing demand for the scooters and an ongoing petition supporting the scooters. In his newsletter the Lord Mayor also referred to safety initiatives having been implemented.
The introduction of the scooters has not been without controversy though, with a very brief poll in Wynnum showing 70% of those polled ‘hating’ them and only 30% ‘loving’ them.
Concern in many communities (not just Wynnum) about scooter riders travelling too fast and leaving scooters lying around all over the place have been addressed by the Queensland Government substantially increasing fines for scooter riders for speeding and for not wearing a helmet or using a phone while on the scooter.
Further reforms (read more here) will see speeds reduced again to 12kmh on all footpaths and the State Government working with Brisbane City Council to make sure that “signs and markings make it clear where e-scooters can and can’t be ridden and where they can and can’t be parked.”
These rules will be in addition to the current rules regarding e-scooter use, which can be found here.
Although the original poll on local news site WynnumCentral showed opposition to the scooters, the two petitions lodged on the Brisbane City Council site told a different story, with 189 signatures for the scooter versus only 11 signatures against.
So maybe the community has just got used to them.
What do you think about the e-scooters?
This article is closely based on the original article which appeared on WynnumCentral here.
