Case Date:

10/24/2018

Every day I am nearly hit by a bicycle speeding along the sidewalk on Indiana Avenue from Henderson Street parking garage towards Sample Gates. Every day I cross through those gates and am nearly hit by more bikes speeding and zipping and failing to give way at all to pedestrians. Every day I see mechanized scooters zipping between pedestrians and nearly hitting them and each other, in opposite directions, no one wearing a helmet, no signs explaining the rules, no one enforcing anything. Every day I pray i won't have to see a toddler take a half step to the right as one of these two-wheeled objects zips past them from behind, without warning, and gets hit. Or that I might be that person, because I've come so close so many times. Every day I drive down 3rd and pray I won't be the one who hits a scooter zipping out without warning, or have to see a cyclist ram into the back of a car illegally parked in the bike path (again, NEVER policed) like one of my students a couple of semesters back. And yet I am supposed to believe that "Bloomington is a pedestrian and bike friendly community committed to the integration of active and sustainable forms of transportation." The bike paths need to be segregated and not just by white lines. They need to be two-way. The scooters need to go until some meaningful infrastructure has been put in place for them, including signage that makes clear the rules, because no one has gotten the memo that they're not supposed to be on the sidewalks -- publishing regulations prominently on this website would be a start. It feels like the scooters were just dumped here and then the owners ran away. Let me be clear. I am a huge fan of bikes and walking. I've spent half my life walking everywhere, just not in this country. For example, I lived in Berlin for two years 25 years ago, and rode my bike everywhere. That was a genuinely bike friendly city, safe for pedestrians. it had designated bike paths with their own traffic lights, and policed regulations that penalized everyone for breaking the rules, including pedestrians. imagine how much money the city could make -- and how much safer it would be for everyone -- if we actually implemented such regulations. i will not let my kids out on their bikes. I have been here just four years and personally know two people who've been hit by cars, one who was maimed for life while walking, another who was badly hurt while riding. i know a cyclist who's been hit by a car while legally crossing a cross walk. the lack of transparent regulation and absence of enforcement has created a toxic mess that is going to end in tragedy for someone. Please, the city needs to act. Pedestrians shouldn't have to police the sidewalks themselves. Please make our city safe for walkers again, and give our cyclists proper paths they are obligated to use without endangering life and limb -- their own and others'. And do the same for the scooters. But only if you must. They are no alternative to safe public transportation and without enforcement we are going to continue to have horrible accidents like the one last week that left a student with a head injury. I know the student health center is counting injuries. Everyone I know has a scooter story. I saw someone having a horrible fall right in front of Franklin Hall just a week or two ago, and a few days later, four young lads zooming in drunken formation past Kilroy's, taking up both sides of the road, no helmets. i'm still trying to decide whether that was better or worse than the careful young student I followed riding his scooter, without a helmet, sandwiched between cars on 10th, with his nice backpack and pressed Chino's. It has to stop.

Case Date:

11/6/2018

Several scooter riders are riding the scooters in the dismount zone along the north side of Kirkwood Avenue between Indiana and Dunn avenues. Increased (or any) enforcement of laws would be nice for a change.

Case Date:

11/15/2018

Hello, I would like to draw your attention to an issue with item 6 of the e-scooter guidelines on the city website; "6. Park the scooter in a bike rack or in another lawful spot on public property that does not block the right-of-way, limit access for individuals with disabilities, risk damaging private or public property, or jeopardize public safety." E-scooters should not be parked “in a bike rack” as they do not require locking and have their own kick-stand support. When e-scooters are parked inside of bike racks they are blocking access to a vital space for cyclists. Parking e-scooters in bike racks causes the same inconvenience to cyclists as parking e-scooters in the middle of a sidewalk causes to pedestrians. Failing to notice this basic issue feels like the city of Bloomington has forgotten or decided to ignore the needs of cyclists. I ask that the wording in the e-scooter guidelines be changed to ensure that bike racks are reserved for bikes and other vehicles that require locking, and proper notice be given to e-scooter users about this change. Thank you.

Case Date:

11/20/2018

316 e 12th St. Three Bird scooter across the sidewalk. 4:30 pm, Nov 20, 2018

Case Date:

12/8/2018

On High Street this morning, near the intersection with Atwater. A handicapped person in a motorized scooter could not pass by. Shame on the person who placed the scooters like this.

Case Date:

12/10/2018

Scooters are the latest scourge on Bloomington and it seems that our city officials refuse to directly address the issue. The unenforceable regulations that tie them to bicycles is ridiculous. I walk downtown routinely and each time I have gone downtown I have experiences a scooter whizzing by me on the sidewalk in the "dismount" zone. Motorized vehicles should not be on sidewalks, period. They also continue to litter the downtown and neighborhoods. They lay everywhere and create an unsightly mess all over town. Bloomington is quickly becoming a less desirable city in which to live because of our mayor's and city council's inability to deal with this latest invasion.

Case Date:

12/10/2018

701 S Highland--there are 8 scooters here today; none have been taken. They are taking up parking spaces in the street and are an eyesore. If I cannot park my car in front of my own house without buying a permit, are these really allowed to do so? I would like them taken out of the neighborhood--they've been festering for the last week or so, and we are not a scooter-riding neighborhood.

Case Date:

12/12/2018

Your "include a photo" does not seem to be working. Email me if you want it. Bird scooters parked(probably by charger) blocking only narrow sidewalk on Second Street just east of High St. Road is very narrow. One fell into street and almost caused a swerving car to hit my car. I tried to go back and move the scooter but someone had already run over it.

Case Date:

4/2/2019

Berniece Snyder in the Fire Department came to me on 4/1 to report a scooter in a tree. It was off Lincoln Street between 6th & 7th street.

Case Date:

4/5/2019

I reported a scooter parked here on S Park Ave---714, I think--two days ago. Here is another this morning.