Dover puts restrictions on electric scooter operators
DOVER – City Council has approved restrictions on electric scooter riders after months of debate.
Council had little debate on one ordinance that required helmets on riders under 18 and kept electric scooters off high-speed roads among several other regulations.
It took longer for members to come to a consensus on a second ordinance that kept E-scooter riders out of city parks. They finally passed it unanimously Monday, with a couple of members asking the city not to be too heavy-handed with its enforcement.
Council members Perci Garner and Julie Leggett says kids go through the park on the way to the middle school, and parents don’t want them to get in trouble.
Mayor Shane Gunnoe said there will be no “speed traps for scooters.”
He says the city is working on accommodations for E-scooters, too, including bike racks and charging stations.
City Safety Director Bob Everett started Dover’s crackdown on E-scooters in the spring. He said may kids are being irresponsible on their scooters and the city needed to make some laws before somebody got hurt or killed.