SEQUIM — Sequim City Council members have agreed to a tentative partnership with Bird Rides, Inc. to bring electric stand-up foot scooters into the city.
Whether that happens depends on if the company finds the area economically viable, according to city staff at last Monday’s council meeting.
“It’s still up in the air,” City Manager Matt Huish said.
“They’re still analyzing this market,” he added. “Even if we’re moving forward, they may choose not to move forward with this market.”
Council members voted 5-2 to enter into a temporary operating agreement with Bird Rides through Sept. 30, 2023 to bring up to 60 scooters into the city for people 18 and up to use.
If Bird Rides does come to Sequim, a company representative told Huish it’d come at no cost to the city, and it’d take four to six weeks to bring and ready the equipment in the city, he said.
The scooters require a mobile app to pay and ride.
Deputy Mayor Brandon Janisse and Council member Kathy Downer voted against the motion. Downer said she was concerned about scooters being left throughout the city and people tripping over them.
Council member William Armacost said he thought it was a great opportunity as Sequim has “an incredibly active senior community.”
Council member Lowell Rathbun said he doesn’t think seniors will use scooters, but he’s in favor of reducing carbon emissions.
City staff brought the idea to the city council in April after a Bird Rides representative approached the city.
Region
Mike Butler, a Bird Rides representative, told council members on July 11 the company is looking at making Sequim a part of a region with neighboring cities to make scooters more feasible.
He said they’ve approached other cities in the area, including Port Angeles.
Nathan West, Port Angeles city manager, confirmed via email that Bird Rides contacted the city staff and they are evaluating their proposal.
They may bring it to Port Angeles City Council later this month or in August, he said.
More cold, wet weather is a factor in bringing scooters to an area too, Butler said, but Bird has scooters in Nordic countries and Canada.
They have scooters in about 20 cities with under 20,000 people, he said.
Butler told Sequim Mayor Tom Ferrell the company hasn’t pulled out of any cities it partnered with after 12 months. He added that theft of the scooters is little to none in its cities.
Butler also said wreck incidents related to scooters are “pretty insignificant” with an incident about every 40,000-50,000 trips.
City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross said the contract with Bird Rides is non-exclusive and another e-scooter vendor could go through the same process with the city as Bird.
Code update
City council members agreed to update the Sequim Municipal Code on July 11 to allow for motorized scooters.
They cannot be used on city streets with speed limits over 25 mph and must follow laws applicable to other motorized vehicles, according to the updated code.
Deputy Chief Mike Hill with the Sequim Police Department said they could go on sidewalks but must yield to pedestrians, not ride recklessly or negligently, or leave them unattended in such a location that would impede or interfere with pedestrians.
Pets or passengers cannot be shared on a scooter or driven at night, the code states, but they can be used on shared paths in the city such as the Olympic Discovery Trail.
For more information about Bird Rides, visit https://www.bird.co/.
________
Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
