“It could be a great asset to this community,” said Planning Director for the City of Medford, Matt Brinkley, who says the city council unanimously approved a year-long agreement with Bird Rides Incorporated on November 18th.
It’s a pilot agreement, which helps communities learn how best to administer these kinds of shared-use micro-mobility systems.
“The City of Medford has had a shared micro-mobility system in the past, but it was pretty limited. It was a bike-share service, we didn’t have E-scooters or E-bikes,” said Brinkley.
He says the city is spending the next year researching and sorting out the details, which includes taking a look at how the City of Redding has handled the same service.
City leaders will be figuring out where to put them, what the community thinks of the idea, and how they will be used.
Of course, that includes rules and regulations, like speed.
“You can’t ride a scooter on the sidewalk, they’re meant for the street preferably on the bike lane or mixed with traffic, maybe sticking to the side of the road,” he said.
Brinkley says he hopes the pilot agreement goes smoothly and the future permanent implementation of the E-scooters benefits the area.
“I hope that the system works, that people enjoy it, and that it’s useful.”
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