Public Invited to ScooterLNK Safety Event May 22

Published on May 17, 2021

Lincoln Transportation and Utilities invites the public to attend a ScooterLNK Safety Education Event Saturday, May 22 on North Seventh Street between “R” and “Q” streets in the West Haymarket. The free event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. will outline safety and operation rules for Bird and Spin electric scooters (e-scooters).  In addition to free rides offered at the event, Bird and Spin will give away free helmets to participants.

Since the ScooterLNK year-long pilot program began in September 2020, riders have made more than 46,000 trips on Bird and Spin e-scooters.

Operation guidelines include:

• Riders must be over the age of 18 and hold a valid motor vehicle operator’s permit.
• Riders are urged to wear a helmet for safety.
• Riders must follow all traffic rules, signals, and signs.
• Riders must ride in bicycle lanes or vehicle lanes with the flow of traffic.
• Riders must yield to pedestrians and walk e-scooters on sidewalks when parking.
• Only one rider is allowed on an e-scooter at a time.
• E-scooters are only permitted on city streets or on-street bike lanes that fall within the Pilot Program Zone.
• Riders must not ride e-scooters under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• E-scooters are not permitted on StarTran buses.
• E-scooters are not permitted to be ridden on sidewalks, hiking or biking trails or UNL property.

E-scooters can be parked in the following areas:

• Within the furniture/landscape area of the City sidewalk public right-of-way next to bike racks, trash receptacles or flowerpots.
• Parked e-scooters must allow at least four feet of usable pedestrian walking space around them.
• In City-designated scooter parking areas (a map of designed parking areas can be found on the ScooterLNK website).

Scooters will be disinfected and sanitized after each use.  LTU encourages guests to wear masks at this event and to maintain a six-foot distance between each other.  This event will also include electric bikes from the BikeLNK program.

For more information on the ScooterLNK program, vendor apps, and a list of safety and operating guidelines, visit lincoln.ne.gov (keyword: scooter) or contact LTU Traffic Engineering Transportation Planner, Roberto Partida at 402-440-7239 or at rpartida@lincoln.ne.gov.