Some 15,000 e-scooters suddenly appeared on the streets in and around Dallas, Texas, in the past two years. But this week Dallas City Council yanks them, at least temporarily, to re-evaluate the danger and nuisance from these dockless electric vehicles. Micro mobility solutions like this were designed to address climate change. Perhaps e-scooter mayhem is worse.
Background: Electric Scoots Must Be Taken Off Dallas’ Streets by End of Week, City Says [The Dallas Morning News]
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Bill Whittle Network ยท Dallas Yanks E-Scooters: A Danger and Nuisance Worse than Climate Change?
17 replies on “Dallas Yanks E-Scooters: A Danger and Nuisance Worse than Climate Change?”
Humans being what they are, the tragedy of the commons will forever be with us. That which is not owned is not taken care of as well as that which is owned. Assuming the ownership was in fact earned. Otherwise it is always someone else’s problem.
It is use it, abuse it, extract the superficial benefit, discard it without thought. It is the start of why socialism/collectivism in any form never works in the long run. No amount of government coercion and public shaming can make it otherwise.
They tried that sort of thing in Milwaukee (and I think Madison too) and it worked, for a while, then people got tired of idiots driving them on the sidewalks because they didn’t want to be in real traffic, they were dropped and left whereever when someone arrived at a destination, and of course, we have this thing called SNOW up here, as well as ICE and they did not fare well.
From what I heard, the city had no hand in the till, some of the companies just set up shop and dropped them off. City had its hand out of course but partly to it staying empty and partly to the other getting filled with complaints they forced the companies out ( I think with threatened fines ).
I haven’t been through big city round abouts but we have a few in some of the smaller towns around me, courtesy of our state engineers. They do work well in most places though there are a couple I think would be better off with 2 way stop signs. I have had to educate a few of my customers as to what they are and how you get through them, including one idiot that thought they were to keep the truckers from coming through the city instead of using the bypass around (like a semi would want to hit 16 stop lights instead of an easy drive around the city with on/off ramps and no traffic problems).
Scooters (Half-wit Harleys, hood ornaments, fifty dollar speed bumps, etc.) should be sharing lanes with vehicles in the same way that baby seals should be sharing batting cages with Inuit fur traders.
Up here in New England those two wheeled lobotomies are pretty popular in the summer time. When I cruise through certain areas in Providence it’s like playing a big boss villain in Frogger. The kids and adults(?) that drive these things pick and choose when they will obey traffic laws. They dart, they weave, they wear those ridiculous helmets! It’s like anarchy at break neck speeds of 10 miles per hour.
I cannot imagine an oversized vending machine pumping these weenie wheels out to those that think that they can actually drive them. Some clown picks between Funyuns or a quarter horse powered idiot launcher?
Who designed this, Idi Amin?
Here’s the thing. We Texans don’t care very much about public transit. We also don’t care very much about things like ADA-required sidewalks and ramps (except that they are an unfunded mandate that has to be incorporated into any roadwork project). Here’s why we don’t care: for the most part, it is TOO DANG HOT to be walking around outside (or waiting half an hour at a bus or tram stop). The reason people use the stupid scooters to congregate AT NIGHT is because that’s the only time it’s cool enough to be outside on a public sidewalk.
In downtown Houston we have a tunnel system to get around so that we never have to go outside where it’s not air-conditioned. In the Medical Center we have a few tunnels and “skyways” between skyscrapers. You just don’t see a lot of people on the sidewalks compared to other large cities.
I lived in Chicago for five years so I do understand how mass transit and pedestrian management is supposed to work. It doesn’t work in the climate of Houston or Dallas. (Or the culture.)
I do have sympathy for people who rely on public transit because they cannot afford a car, but it would probably be cheaper to provide publicly-funded door-to-door taxi services (even before Uber) than we have spent on public transit for the comparatively small number of people who actually use it.
It is yet one more example of “one-size-fits-all” thinking that city councils try to force down the throats of their constituents because they get these consultants from some other state who base their recommendations on assumptions that are not true here. Even TxDOT (state dept of transportation, whose primary purpose is to maintain large road systems) has fallen prey to this and some of their current proposals are truly appalling.
Of course, if the federal government was not involved, handing out dough and imposing regulations, we could find our own solutions to whatever problems we perceive to be problems, and not the problems of other cities.
This appears to be another “mass transit” scheme in disguise. Steve is right, we Americans have an independent “don’t tread on me” streak that is hard to break (and long may it prevail).
The city might have been better off charging a modest (perhaps subsidized) fee that still meant the user had some “skin” in the game, rather than providing the units “for free”. And how many of those users were actually property tax payers rather than further free loading on the general tax paying public? I would also think that scooter user-owners could simply take them inside at the end of their trip, like a piece of luggage with wheels or one of those fold up beach chairs carried in a bag with shoulder straps..
Follow the money. These were created by the city government who put out bids for the monopolistic concession. Do you think there might be political kickbacks involved? What subsidies are being paid by these deficit addicted pols to their crony scooter pals?
Scooters should require a rider’s license similar to motorcycles, and be strictly required to obey traffic lays (no operation on side walks. How many additional police will be required to enforce these rules on scooter?. How does a patrol car chase a scooter?
Solution in search of a problem indeed. Unintended consequences? What council of morons couldn’t see this coming? They did, but now they get to expand their power to solve this problem they first created. Duh!
And here I was thinking Austin had a really stupid city council.
Best off-road vehicle ever built? A rental.
Theres a traffic circle in Long Beach. Been there for decades. People have no clue how to use the thing and its a big ole mess
Whether you call them a traffic circle, rotary, or round about, the prime directive is cars on the circle have right of way! Don’t stop to let anyone in, and wait for a reasonable space to merge in to enter. Honestly, if people would just remember that one principle 99.9% of all traffic circle problems go away.
“We have a congested traffic area in town affectionately called “The Apponator”, which has 5 (actually 4.75, but I don’t wish to take the time to explain) traffic circles within about a quarter square mile. Having driven through that section every weekday for years, going to and from work, in pre-Apponator days, I can attest to how much better the traffic flow is. Of course one has to always be aware of the occasional dunderhead or overly aggressive driver who does not pay heed to the prime directive, but mostly things just work so much better. However, I know many, many folks who will not go near the Apponator, because they are so afraid of it. Fortunately, there are alternative routes available for the faint of heart.
Had opportunity to visit England in 1991. Traffic circles worked well when traffic was moderate, but at rush hour they still backed up. Not sure using lights at that point might not have worked as well or better.
If you search for them, there are a number of exotic cross-over and other schemes to move traffic without creating 30 lane highways that still clog up at the entry and exit points.
One thing they did in England that I thought was neat was at certain construction/ road repair sites, they would put temporary timed traffic lights at each side of the work zone, thereby avoiding the need for two additional “workmen” to handle traffic control. Seemed to be a sensible solution even if it was not suitable for all situations.
Temporary stop lights, like any other temporary road sign around a construction or other problem area, seem like a great idea to me. That way when some not-so-bright person who is not-so-much paying attention hits one, some poor flag (Person? Is that the correct PC word?) doesn’t die horribly under the wheels of a Volvo or electric hybrid.
Years ago I was navigator while my girlfriend was driving. I directed her through the PCH traffic circle. She started screaming at me that she was terrified of the traffic school. Then she cut off a CHP car who had the right of way and got a ticket. I don’t think she ever forgave me.
My best traffic circle story (told on myself) is that I was driving a U-haul (Rider) large vehicle home, somewhere in Utah or Nevada, can’t remember. I entered the traffic circle and exited at the wrong spot (don’t know how many available exits there were, more than 4 I think), realized my mistake and compounded it by trying to make a U turn (in said large vehicle) to get back to the traffic circle. It turned out to be not a U turn, but a Y turn, which necessitates backing up at some point. I hesitated to back up, as my mirrors were not giving me enough data to know whether I would be backing up into any traffic (and traffic was ‘backing up’ in a different sense in my blind spot). Finally, I took reins of the situation and backed up blindly, straightened myself out, and finished the Y. Whew! Didn’t hit anyone in the encounter, they were smart enough to give me space…
On a side note to the gang, I’m following Dave Rubin’s example and am going to take a month off from current events, going dark some time over the weekend. If anything breaks on this site I’m counting on all fo you to step up onto my vacant soap box and be a pain in Scott’s a**!
Be excellent to each other, and see you in October.
Enjoy your time away from ‘social media’, etc!
I too am taking a vacation, going to be with actual family (in person, not in FB), not spending as much time as usual on the Internet (using my electronics to take pics and text/coordinate w/ siblings).
I will catch up w/ you all when I get back, I know there are plenty of you all to fill in any gaps (and I look forward to reading them).
Scott, this Jersey Boy thanks you for starting my day with a great laugh over you paraphrasing my home state’s unofficial state anthem!