Having lived in Austin the last 5 years I thought I’d provide a little perspective on the dockless scooters. There are a large number of differences between Morgantown and Austin that I believe will have substantial impact on implementing dockless scooters in Morgantown.
1) UT Austin is located extremely close to downtown. However, the campus itself is closed to thru traffic creating a safe welcoming environment to alternative forms of transportation. Additionally, as part of the universities new campus redisgn they recently removed a major road going through the campus and replaced it with a corridor open only to non-motorized transportation that runs down the middle of campus making it a great way to easily cross the 40 acre campus and connect nicely with the downtown area.
2)Leaving campus each road leading to downtown has bus/bike lanes which can be used for scooters. The scooters are typically used on the side walk as well, but Austin’s sidewalks are generally wider than any sidewalk in the Morgantown downtown area. The infrastructure was already in place for these to be a success.
3)Last but not least is the climate and terrain. You can be on the roads in Austin 365 days a year with a few days lost to rain. There is no freeze thaw cycle so the roads and sidewalks have less pot holes and corrosion making a scooter ride relatively smooth. How will these hold up over the winter months of no use and corrosion from the salt treated roads? Will people find these enjoyable with our current infrastructure? Although Austin is considered “hill country” it is generally flat with maybe one or two roads as steep as University Ave going towards B&E in their downtown area so a scooter can easily get around in Austin.
Best,
Brian Leary
Thanks, Bill. It’s good to hear an informed objective perspective. Here’s a link to Austin’s apparently somewhat ad hoc succinct dockless mobility plan:
http://austintexas.gov/docklessmobility . I think there are enough examples of guidance, plans, ordinances and agreements / contracts already in existence that we can make this work if our market is of sufficient size.
Frank
FYI
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Jim <james-craig@comcast.net>
To: Bill Kawecki <wm_a_kawecki@comcast.net>
Date: November 7, 2018 at 3:27 PM
Subject: Schooter issues
Bill, I believe I saw something about Council discussing whether to allow a company to rent scooters in downtown Morgantown. I just returned from Austin Texas where these things were being used a lot. The Univ. of Texas campus is very near downtown like our main campus is here. Folks of all ages were using them, but mostly students. They were being used on sidewalks as well although I am not sure I would recommend it as the students were not always respectful of pedestrians.
Interesting idea however. Cheap, quiet and quick,and takes up little parking area. You might check with the City of Austin and see how they transitioned to their use before moving on this request. Jim Craig
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