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Here it is, June 21st, the longest day of the year and the first day of summer. The pool is open, school is out and life is good.
All of this brings so much excitement and fun, as well as an increase of children on the move with bikes and now an ever increasing buzz of e-scooters. Don’t get me wrong, if I were age 8-10, I would love riding all of the new e-bikes and e-scooters. It would be great fun. The challenge is to keep everyone safe.
Recently, one of those scooters came within inches of being hit by a vehicle. A lady witnessing this stated, “My heart just stopped when I realized how close that child came to being seriously hurt or even killed.”
This is not just a local situation. It is something every city and town, regardless of the population, is now dealing with. How can we allow our young people to enjoy riding these electric powered scooters and mini-bikes safely?
Many cities have restrictions on riding only on streets with a speed limit of less than 35 MPH. Others have restrictions of a speed restriction of 15 mph for the scooters themselves. In each case, those riding the e-scooters, must obey all traffic signs and laws, meaning coming to a complete stop when approaching a stop sign, etc.
I truly feel this issue is something our community must address because from what I am seeing, it isn’t if someone is going to be seriously hurt, it’s just when some child will be seriously injured or, God forbid, killed. There is no way any little person or an adult, riding without a helmet or any other protection, can survive being hit by a vehicle.
So what’s the solution? Perhaps there is no perfect solution that will eliminate any and all risk, however, here is some food for thought.
Establish a designated area or areas, that our young people can ride safely, perhaps the Fairgrounds or areas of the community that have very limited traffic or very low speed limits.
Neighborhoods could and should set up some designated times and routes to enhance the fun and safety for their children. Our 26-acre Complex has a chain link frisbee golf course, why couldn’t that large of an area accommodate a related e-scooter track? Again, with some guidelines and supervision.
We do it with all types of sports and the number of these e-everything is growing fast.
Establish a safety course requirement, similar to the gun safety classes young hunters take. This could and should raise the awareness of some of the dangers of speeding through stop signs or coming up behind those walking on sidewalks without any way of passing safely. Most cities require some type of horn that raises awareness to avoid unexpected stepping out in front of a scooter.
I do not think banning these e-scooters is the answer. Let’s get ahead of that by finding a safe way that our young people can continue to enjoy riding them. Yes, the park is a very good place to ride, however everyone needs to respect the rights of those walking and driving through the area. Getting from home to the PARK presents the most risk, especially when two or more young guys or gals start to race through an intersection without stopping.
Please, let’s all do our part to slow down and look out for our young people. Parents, please continue to remind your children of the danger in crossing intersections without stopping.
I really think this is an issue that needs more attention. We just can’t ignore this and hope and pray nothing happens. A child’s life and safety are way too important than to just hope nothing happens. I encourage the City and Park’s committee to take the initiative on at least getting some formal discussion and format established to address this growing need. Your leadership and dedication to serve is needed and appreciated.
Here’s hoping for a great and safe summer for 2026 and years ahead. God Bless!
— Paul Steffen Hartington
