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Committee backs pilot for commercial e‑scooters with fees, geofencing and education requirements
Summary
The Community and Business Relations Committee recommended the village board consider an ordinance to allow a one‑year commercial e‑scooter pilot with proposed fees, geofencing around parks and schools and operator education requirements; committee members cautioned about enforcement limits.
A three‑member committee recommended the Village Board consider an ordinance and one‑year pilot to allow commercial e‑scooters in Shorewood, with local program parameters that would include per‑scooter and per‑ride fees, geofencing and operator responsibilities.
Bart, the staff presenter, said the draft ordinance follows models used by nearby municipalities and outlined three key local questions for trustees: whether to cap the fleet size (he suggested 50 as an illustrative number), whether to require geographic distribution across the village and whether to geofence sensitive areas. The draft finance model would require $100 per scooter deployed annually and $0.25 per trip originating in Shorewood, though staff noted some larger cities could not secure those exact terms with operators.
Committee members discussed likely deployment patterns, enforcement and education. Trustee McKay supported a market‑driven allocation of scooters while proposing geofencing and reduced speeds around the Oak Leaf trail connection to Edgewater and school grounds; staff said the draft already prohibits scooters on pedestrian paths and would allow geofenced slow/stop zones. Bart confirmed operators would be responsible for user education and that sidewalk riding would be prohibited; he also said geofencing alerts can notify riders and slow scooters when entering restricted zones.
Several trustees raised enforcement concerns and said police resources are unlikely to support continuous enforcement of operator or rider infractions. “That is not going to happen,” a police representative paraphrased on enforcement staffing, and committee members cautioned that education and operator self‑enforcement would need to carry much of the program’s compliance burden.
After discussion, the Community and Business Relations Committee voted to recommend the Village Board consider approval of the ordinance and pilot program as drafted, subject to any technical comments from the village attorney.
