One after another, cities are taking action to crack down on motorized scooters in Snohomish County.
In Snohomish, the City Council on Tuesday passed a new ordinance to regulate the popular scooters. The vote was 6-1, with Councilman Doug Thorndike casting the lone “no” vote.
Following the motion, the council voted unanimously to add a provision to the ordinance requiring that every motorized scooter rider wear a helmet certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation, city manager Larry Bauman said.
The new ordinance includes these elements:
* A motorized scooter rider must be 16 or older.
* Residents can ride scooters only on streets with a speed limit of no more than 25 mph. (They can’t ride on Avenue D even though its speed limit is 25 mph because it’s a major street.)
* They must stay off sidewalks, trails, walkways and parks.
* They can’t operate the scooters at night.
* All motorized scooters must have a muffler.
* They must obey traffic regulations.
* Violators will pay $50 for a first offense, $80 for a second offense and $250 for a third offense.
* Parents must supervise and keep within sight riders under the age of 16. Parents who violate the law will be held accountable and have to pay $50 for a first offense, $80 for a second offense and $250 for a third offense. On second and third offenses, scooters will be confiscated.
“I think involving the parents is the key,” Mayor Liz Loomis said, adding that parents have to be responsible for their children’s safety.
Many residents complained about the noise and dangerous operation of motorized scooters. The ordinance has the teeth – including fines – to solve those issues, Loomis said.
“It will deliver our message,” she said. “The message is we are serious about safety.”
Meanwhile, Mukilteo and Edmonds also moved toward regulating motorized scooters this week.
On Tuesday, Mukilteo City Council reviewed an ordinance for scooters and referred it back to staff to hammer out details in some provisions, such as where scooters can be operated, city administrator Richard Leahy said. The ordinance will likely be presented again to the council in early October.
As it stands now, the law will likely require a scooter rider to be 14 or older and to wear a helmet, Leahy said.
In Edmonds, the City Council held a public hearing Tuesday and directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance for motorized scooters, Mayor Gary Haakenson said.
The ordinance will likely be presented to the council in early October, the mayor said.
“I think it’s necessary,” Haakenson said. “It’s unfortunate. We have to do this.”
Haakenson said he’s gotten about six complaints a week in recent months, mainly about the noise and safety issues of motorized scooters.
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