News Roundup City Council seeks injury data from scooter use

By Collin Kelley

The Atlanta City Council approved a resolution in March seeking injury data related to the use of dockless scooters. The resolution, approved unanimously, requests that hospitals, urgent care facilities and other healthcare institutions provide injury reports to the City Council on a quarterly basis.

The resolution was drafted by Council President Felicia Moore in response to safety concerns generated by the growing use of the devices.

The move comes as hundreds of injuries have been reported by people using the various dockless scooters offered by Bird, Lime, Lyft and Uber. The council recently approved a set of regulations to control the proliferation of the electric scooters that have crowded Intown sidewalks.

“Since scooters were introduced into Atlanta’s landscape, members of the public and media have expressed concern regarding the safety of these devices,” Moore said. “Empirical data from healthcare providers would better position us to ensure that scooters are not just an innovative transportation solution, but a safe one as well.”

At her annual State of the City address, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that the City of Atlanta will create a Department of Transportation to consolidate work being done across several departments.

The newly-announced Atlanta Children’s Memorial Commission will explore the creation of a monument for the victims of the Atlanta Child Murders. At least 28 people, mostly children and adolescents, were killed over a two-year period, starting in 1979.

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation to create the new Board of Ethics and Independent Compliance as well as the establishment of the position of the Independent Compliance Officer. The board will work to ensure that the City of Atlanta eliminates fraud, waste and abuse.

The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to remove four miles of reversible lanes on Memorial Drive – between Pearl Street and Candler Road – to help improve traffic flow.

“As a critical care nurse, it is important to me that our city be able to monitor the injury data regarding this new mode of transportation. As we gather this data, it will inform possible future legislative actions to further regulate the devices in the interest of public safety,” Councilmember Dustin Hillis said of the resolution.

Rules adopted in January by the council include that scooters must be parked upright on sidewalks and allow pedestrians five feet of space. Companies that violate the policy could be fined $1,000 per day. However, scooters continue to block sidewalks and the Atlanta BeltLine and can be found overturned in heaps at locations around the city.