Last summer, e-scooters rolled into Red Deer for the first season of a three-season pilot program. At the end of the summer, The City asked residents what they thought of having e-scooters in our community, and the results were clear
The City surveyed residents, stakeholders and the e-scooter companies to ensure we had a clear picture of the program, what was good and bad, and what needed to be changed.
“What we heard loud and clear was that e-scooters were fun, engaging and a success for our community. Not only did it add to the quality of life of our residents, but it also boosted our local and downtown economy, and was successful for the e-scooter companies that chose to set up shop in our city,” said Amy Fengstad, Parking and Licensing Supervisor. “We are thankful Red Deerians embraced this new program and are excited to bring them back this summer.”
Reviewing the feedback also prompted some changes for the 2022 summer season, including increasing public education opportunities with the e-scooter companies and an amendment to the Traffic Bylaw to allow for increased enforcement options. Should the program be adopted on a more permanent basis, The City will explore options to add signage on the parks and trails system to identify sharp corners or blind spots for e-scooter users.
“The target for season one of the program was to educate users on how to ride safely throughout our city,” said Amy Fengstad, Parking and Licensing Supervisor. “In the next season of the pilot program we hope to enhance opportunities for users to learn the rules and regulations. Rider etiquette was a top concern, and we are going to take steps to ensure we can all share the trails and pathways together, safely.”
For the first season, Neuron, Bird, Link, Spin, and Roll launched in Red Deer in July, with Lime joining in August. All e-scooter companies have reported they will return to Red Deer for the next season. Based on the feedback received, season two of the pilot program will keep the pilot open to all companies and no caps on the number of e-scooters. E-scooters will return March 15, 2022 (or later, depending on weather), for the second summer pilot.
The City heard from over 1,700 residents through a public survey conducted in November 2021. Some of the top complaints heard from residents were related to parking e-scooters (unsafe parking), rider etiquette (coming up too fast behind others) and seeing underage riders. The top three benefits of having e-scooters in our community were identified as bringing more people to the downtown, having great e-scooter companies to work with and that they were just fun to use to get us outside more. For more details on the survey results, visit www.reddeer.ca/escooters.
The Traffic Bylaw amendments given first reading by Council today include amendments for enforcement tools to help gain greater compliance with e-scooter usage. The bylaw will return to Council for second and third reading at the Monday, February 28 Council Meeting.
For more information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
The City of Red Deer