In November, Asheville City Council voted to ban the use of e-scooters in the city — for now.
Related: Asheville e-scooters staff report and City Council resolution
This came after the Bird e-scooter company deposited a few hundred scooters on Asheville streets without permission in October.
Still, the e-scooter conversation is continuing at the City of Asheville with consideration of whether they may be able to be used in the future.
“The purpose the e-scooter ban is to allow the City to have time to study the potential use of e-scooters,” said Transportation Assistant Director Jessica Morriss. “Council will have the final say in terms of whether they will be allowed. And if they are allowed how we are going to regulate them in the right of way.”
For now, e-scooters are being discussed in two areas at the City, at the study level and at the committee level.
Consideration of e-scooters has been added to the City’s Bike Share Feasibility Study that is ongoing.
And the City’s Multimodal Transportation Commission will have a workshop/learning session about e-scooters during its 3 p.m. Dec. 19 meeting in Room 623 at City Hall. No action will be taken.
“Really this meeting is to start a conversation and look at what other cities are doing,” said Morriss. “They’re not making any decisions or formal recommendations.”
Every city in North Carolina is approaching e-scooters slightly differently, Morriss said, noting Charlotte’s recent e-scooter pilot program.
More research and many considerations have to be taken into consideration before the matter could go back before City Council.
While the City of Asheville is committed to allowing as many modes of transportation as possible for our residents, safety has to foremost in decision making.
If you’d like to know more about the issue, the public is always invited to attend City committee meetings. Come up to the sixth floor from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, and listen in on the Multimodal Transportation Commission’s e-scooter workshop.