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‘It’s really an issue of public safety': Queens officials plan to denounce e-scooter program
By
Giulia Heyward
Published May 30, 2024
Modified May 30, 2024
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By
Giulia Heyward
Published May 30, 2024
Modified May 30, 2024
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Elected officials and residents of eastern Queens plan to publicly denounce the pending expansion of New York City's e-scooter sharing program on Thursday. It’s the latest in a monthslong back-and-forth with the transportation department over what’s become a polarizing mode of transportation.
The transportation department launched its e-scooter share program in the Bronx three years ago for those in underserved areas looking to lock down a quick ride through a couple of taps on a smartphone. More than 157,000 people have booked a combined 3.8 million rides through the program since August 2021, according to the agency.
The city announced last year that it would expand the program into Queens. The expansion is scheduled to officially launch in mid-June and will cover 20 square miles stretching from Flushing and Auburndale in the north to Rochdale Village and Springfield Gardens in the south.
But not everyone is on board with the expansion. According to officials, a group of eastern Queens residents said they were concerned about safety issues as more riders hop onto the electric scooters, and that riders often lack a place to park the scooters once they're done with them.
“We all have objected to this and yet they’re still going to bring the program here,” said Councilmember Sandra Ung, whose Queens district includes some of the areas where the e-scooter program will be expanding this summer.
Ung added that she’s “made it very clear, since last year when they came to me with this, that I do not believe this is a good program for Downtown Flushing.”
Officials said they would publicly oppose the plan at a demonstration outside the Flushing Library on Kissena Boulevard and Main Street at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Ung said she’s received phone calls from residents worried about the new move. She said that the e-scooters will only add to the chaos in some of the borough’s highly congested areas.
Ung denounced the program's planned expansion in a letter to the city's Department of Transportation last year.
“It’s more than just a nuisance, it’s really an issue of public safety,” Ung stated in the letter. “We have all been on sidewalks where we’ve been walking and there’s this whoosh behind you – it’s not a whoosh, it’s an e-scooter. I get very nervous when that happens.”
A DOT spokesperson said e-scooters have been popular in the city because of their convenience. A similar program in the Bronx has recorded nearly 4 million trips taken by more than 150,000 riders, with no fatalities and few serious injuries, the spokesperson said.
"NYC DOT has strict safety and parking protocols to acclimate new users and keep pedestrian paths clear," DOT spokesperson Vincent Barone said in an email. "We've overseen millions of scooter-sharing rides in the Bronx, helping better connect residents to mass transit and commercial corridors, without a single serious safety incident and a good record on parking compliance."
The DOT also referred to comments officials previously made, when Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez lauded the expansion of the “popular, safe and environmentally sustainable” means of getting around the city earlier this month.
“This expansion is an equitable way to bring a popular, safe, and environmentally sustainable mode of transportation to underserved neighborhoods in Queens, and we look forward to continuing our work with these communities as e-scooter share expands,” Rodriguez stated in a press release.
New York City is not the first to attempt the implementation of a citywide scooter rental program. In California, San Diego's City Council imposed new restrictions on the vehicles that eventually forced all e-scooter companies to leave the city. Other cities, like Paris, France, have banned the renting of e-scooters altogether.
This story has been updated.
Tagged
queens
transportation
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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