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Residents urge Wake Forest to permit electric scooters, propose safety rules
Summary
Multiple residents — including a parent and a teen — asked the Board of Commissioners to reconsider the town's ban on electric scooters, proposing helmet requirements, speed caps and restrictions on greenways or sidewalks to address safety concerns.
Two Wake Forest residents addressed the Board of Commissioners during public comment on Aug. 1 to urge changes to the town's ordinance addressing motorized scooters.
Russell Hammock said his family bought an electric scooter for his daughter to use for school travel and asked the board to allow "responsible use on sidewalks and low speed roads within town limits." He said scooters reduce vehicle trips and can encourage independent mobility for young people.
Nolan Davis, who identified his address and said he and friends had purchased scooters, told the board a ban was the wrong approach and proposed safety rules including obeying traffic signals and stop signs, wearing helmets, one person per scooter and allowing use on greenways (he opposed sidewalk use). "Many scooters like mine are capped at 12 or 15 miles per hour to be sure that we stay at a safe speed," Davis said.
Several commissioners acknowledged hearing the speakers and one commissioner said they had requested a revision to the ordinance at a prior meeting and expected the issue to be taken up by staff "very shortly." No formal ordinance change was voted on at the meeting.
