CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The sidewalks in Uptown are buzzing with more electric scooter riders hitting the pavement.
As more folks scoot their way through Uptown, a Charlotte city council member is pushing for more enforcement.
"You see scooters zooming through sidewalks and over the speed limit, and that's clearly a concern," said Charlotte City Council member Dimple Ajmera.
Electric scooters are prohibited on sidewalks in congested parts of Uptown, like Church Street, Brooklyn Village Avenue, College Street and 7th Street, but Ajmera said it’s a rule that is broken quite often by electric scooter drivers.
"When you have pedestrians with children that are walking on the sidewalks, that really creates a very challenging environment for them," said Ajmera.
"This is about safety for our pedestrians making sure that we are keeping our pedestrians safe," said Ajmera.
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She said there are not only concerns about drivers dashing down the path but there’s also a safety issue with many scooters blocking public access.
"You see scooters being parked in the middle of our sidewalks, which really creates a challenge for our impaired mobility community or parents like myself to get around," said Ajmera.
The Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) said one of the things that it has done to enhance safety is to lower the electric scooter speed from 15 mph to 8 mph in those congested areas of Uptown.
"We've mapped the areas that are referred to as the restricted zone, as soon as the scooter identifies itself moving into that area it automatically slows the speed," said Casey Mashburn, with CDOT.
CDOT said it is also working to educate the community, encouraging them to ride in bike lanes in restricted areas of Uptown.
"Safety is a huge goal of our department and one of the primary things that we focus on as a city and a department,' said Mashburn.
Mashburn said they also have ambassadors out on the roads in Uptown to better enforce rules and to keep everyone safe.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.