Before you drop that scooter, think about who else uses the sidewalk

Seattle really is a wonderfully accessible city for me, as a blind person. As a newer tech transfer to Seattle, I admit to feeling pride when I hear accessible pedestrian signals all around me when I’m out walking in my new city.

I was part of a team that worked with the city of San Francisco in 2007 to develop standards for their installation in my former home in the Bay Area. These same standards were later adopted by the Uniform Manual for Traffic Control Devices published by the Department of Transportation and are now used all over the country. 

Some of the things I love best about being out and about in Seattle: the constant smell of green trees, grass and moss; wheelchair-accessible, “talking” city buses that help me get where I’m going; and the fact that Seattle is doing some interesting things, like including accessible wayfinding on Sound Transit through a pilot program with Good Maps. 

One thing I don’t love about Seattle’s pedestrian safety is the number of scooters I’m encountering on sidewalks. They’re a safety hazard, not only for folks riding on sidewalks and those of us dodging them, but the scooters themselves have become an increasing problem for blind and low-vision individuals like me. Far too often I’ve come across a rentable scooter that has been thrown down and discarded haphazardly after use. Scooters are becoming tripping hazards for everyone, but especially for folks with mobility impairments. 

Electric scooters have been banned in Paris, but I don’t think that’s the solution. These scooters could be helpful for people who have limited mobility or heart conditions, after all. But we also have to think about the public right of way. We’ll need lots of options for transportation in the fossil fuel-free cities of the future, and I think that e-scooters can play a part in that. What I’m advocating is a citizen education campaign to help people understand the impact of their actions on the rest of the community. 

As accessibility continues to move more into the mainstream of conversations about justice, we need to be mindful of creating opportunities for people to move about freely in the ways that make sense for them and their needs. But blocking ramps, jutting out of building entrances and lying across sidewalks are not where scooters can be useful additions to city life. I’m not saying “get off my lawn,” — I’m saying keep scooters off the sidewalk so we can all get around safely.