“Having new sorts of transport devices on our roads would also help push cities into thinking beyond the simple “car/pedestrian” binary – essential in the long run if we’re to tackle the climate crisis. This is not a plea for the Silicon Valley model of picking up and dropping rented scooters wherever you want: discarded scooters littering the pavements are a pain and an eyesore. But allowing these things on the road? It’s a no-brainer.  (Alex Hern, The Guardian)

My take:  Tell this to the elderly people in my neighborhood!  Our city government are proposing to allow 10,000 more scooters onto our already crowded streets. The sidewalks are not exactly littered with scooters, (just left any-old-how on the sidewalks). That would be an exaggeration. But only an exaggeration because the proposed additional 10,000 haven’t yet appeared.

Scooters are used by young people who think they are immortal, it seems. They wear no helmets or reflective devices on their clothes at night. They travel everywhere at maximum speed in car lanes if they can get away with it,  and park, yes, any-old-how, not thinking of pedestrians and the ubiquitous little ole ladies. It is only a matter of time before the serious accidents start to happen. I love The Guardian, but sometimes it lets theory trump common sense.  At least impose some enforceable rules!