E-Mobility Vehicles in Middlebury

[Laura Asermily]

E-Bike Lending Library: Many thanks to Local Motion, Frog Hollow Bikes (Carl Robinson) and Safe Routes Middlebury (Erik Remsen) for arranging the VERY popular Midd E-Bike Lending Library that ran through this summer and ends Oct 31. There are no reservations left for the regular e-bike but one reservation left for the e-cargo bike for Oct 29-31 if you want to snatch it here.  What's next? Frog Hollow Bikes will store the two e-bikes that were gifted to Middlebury by Local Motion over the winter and coordinate with Safe Routes Middlebury on how we can re-issue the free e-bike loan program. We have to come up with our own reservation system, possibly with the help of Ilsley. Stay posted. Learn more about e-bikes from V-Bike Solutions out of hilly Brattleboro. They've been advocating for cargo and e-bikes for quite some time now and are very knowledgeable! See e-vehicle rebates, including ones for e-bikes, from GMP here.

Rules of the Road: E-Bikes should follow the same rules of the road as regular bikes. See this recent article weighing whether or not they pose more risks than conventional bikes. Local Motion does not thing so. 

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/do-e-bikes-pose-more-risks-than-conventional-bikes/Content?oid=34019070&fbclid=IwAR3Xj8Qabv81wte7bQBUUF86Bd5p0toneBy7xVBrz_KObbiNw1PPwJlyhiw

E-scooters: At its meeting Tues 9/28 Middlebury Selectboard Police Chief Tom Hanley presented a Public Health & Safety Committee recommendation, coming from its September 20th meeting, to grant a one-year license to Bird Scooters to operate an electric scooter rental business in Middlebury. Acknowledging the safety concerns expressed by several community members and some Board members about the presence of scooters on local roadways – based largely on reports from other Vermont towns that have hosted similar programs – the Selectboard cautiously agreed to authorize Town Manager Kathleen Ramsay and Chief Hanley to work with Town counsel toward the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bird Co., over the winter outlining terms and conditions for the Middlebury program. If an MOU is ultimately approved, the pilot program would likely begin in early spring of next year and run until November 2022. 

E-Scooter Background: Middlebury Selectboard had charged the Midd Public Health & Safety Comm with coming up with a recommendation at it's 9/20 meeting, yeah or nay, on the issue of licensing Bird Scooter operations in town. To that end, Jeremy Lynch from Bird Scooters presented and they invited stakeholders as well as the public to weigh in.  Bird presented to PHS in June (see attached docs). It didn't weigh in then though lots got discussed at that meeting to address concerns to assure that they would not be a nuisance. Bird attested that "geofencing" and a good, local fleet manager would make the important difference in their success in Middlebury. This person would get 45% of the revenue and coordinates where scooters get docked, gathers and maintains them, etc. Bird is proposing up to 50 scooters in Middlebury (not masses, as you'd see in large urban centers). Bird supports Selectboard advisement that this wait to launch until Spring 2022--not this Fall. Scooters wouldn't be operated in winter months. College students would be seen as major user with pros and cons (could reduce carbon footprint and spare choking downtown parking with this alternative but could also be nuisance by riding inappropriately). "Speeding" would be controlled as they do not exceed 15 mph and would be slower on hills and speed could be programed to be reduced to 12 MPH on campus. The Town would receive some income (fifteen cents per ride). Liability would be on Bird for incidents, not the Town. 

Review the Midd Ordinance for Safe Operation of Bicycles and Other Rideable Devices here where you will see how scooters are addressed.

Pop up e-scooter demo:  Thanks to Middlebury Washington St resident Adam Glazer who agreed to be at the SB meeting with his privately owned e-scooter to describe his experience navigating our roads, including down Exchange St to Desabais with laundry. He was outside the side entrance facing Ilsley at 6:30 pm with me on the cargo bike to show you how his e-scooter works and answer questions. He is quite knowledgeable about them. Want to learn more from Adam? Let me know and I will put you in touch with him. see pics