A majority of community leaders in Chattanooga and large cities statewide support downtown electric scooters, according to the latest Power Poll.
In a survey of business owners and chief executives, elected officials and other stakeholders, 50.6% of the 83 respondents from Chattanooga said they favor the use of electric scooters with guidelines (such as usage only in certain areas of town, limits on their total number of vehicles, required helmet use, or other such guidelines). Another 9.6% favor them without restrictions.
“Tennessee is a proud home for Bird, and we very much look forward to the day we can bring our low-cost, fun transportation solution to Chattanooga in particular,” Sam Reed, director of government partnerships at prospective scooter company Bird, said Thursday. “We are engaged in regular conversations with Chattanooga officials and we hope to deepen those partnerships as the city looks to embrace e-scooters.”
The Chattanooga City Council has been grappling since this spring with ways to provide oversight of scooter rental companies eager to set up shop in the city, seeking to form a “partnership” that would create a sustainable relationship between the companies and the city.
Erskine OglesbyWhile an ordinance sponsored by Chairman and District 7 Councilman Erskine Oglesby – which would allow scooter companies to come to the city if they stayed within certain downtown areas, acquired licenses, gradually introduced their fleets and followed other requirements – passed on first reading, it failed due to a lack of a motion on second reading as some member of the council had qualms about safety and problems in other cities that have scooters.