Posted at 11:25 a.m., Friday, June 20, 2003
Harris signs scooter ban into law
Advertiser staff
Mayor Jeremy Harris today signed into law a bill banning gasoline-powered motorized scooters from public streets and sidewalks.Harris signed the bill after listening to comments from annoyed neighbors, scooter distributors and children who use motorized scooters and other concerned community members, .
"I think overall, in weighing all of the facts, public safety issues have to outweigh issues of convenience," Harris said.
Noting that scooter distributors told him the devices can go 28 mph or faster, Harris thought a comment by one teacher was compelling: "Those scooters go faster than the children can think ahead and they often get into accidents because they go faster than they can anticipate in front of them."
Harris suggested the City Council revisit the issue later to set regulations instead of banning the vehicles outright, but between a total ban or no regulations at all, he believes "for right now, (a ban) is the right thing to do."
