Milwaukee electric scooter fine increase, committee OKs proposal
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee leaders debated higher fines for electric scooter riders illegally riding on the sidewalks Thursday. The new fight erupts after a man was seriously injured.
Higher fines for sidewalk scooter riders?
What's next:
The Common Council’s Public Safety Committee advanced a proposal to charge higher fines. The debate now heads to the full council.
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You cannot ride an electric scooter on a Milwaukee sidewalk. And if you do, you already risk a fine of up to $20. The council's Public Safety Committee today debated how high the fines should go up. The committee advanced Ald. Robert Bauman's proposal, which would raise the fines up to $200.
While Ald. Peter Burgelis is proposing fining illegal riders up to $1,000 and fining Lime, the scooter company, $100 dollars up to $10,000. The council is waiting to weigh that proposal, to give the city attorney time to review it.
Lime scooters in Milwaukee
Scooter accidents
The backstory:
This debate erupted after a dangerous sidewalk crash. Prosecutors charged Jonpierre Cherry. They allege he was also riding a scooter on a sidewalk and injured the victim, who had broken ribs, a broken ankle and a fractured spine.
Dig deeper:
A different victim, 81-year-old Mary Bryant, said a scooter rider on the sidewalk also collided with her. She broke her femur and was in the hospital for six days.
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"If they’re caught riding on the sidewalk, give them a heavy fine. They were talking about it on the news this morning, and they say, like, $100 or 200. To me, that's not enough. At least $500 if you are caught riding that scooter that could kill somebody on the sidewalk, give them a heavy fine, and if they’re caught again, I’d fine them $1,000 if I had anything to do with it," Bryant told FOX6 News.
City safety measures, Lime responds
By the numbers:
The Department of Public Works estimates 70% to 80% of riders ride where they're supposed to. DPW said it’s working to build more bike lanes, which scooters can use. They say they have 20 miles right now of protected bike lanes, and are considering another 30 miles.
Milwaukee electric scooter incident, alderman questions safety
After a recent incident involving an electric Lime scooter, downtown Milwaukee's alderman questions whether the city should allow them at all.
The Public Safety Committee also discussed cutting scooter speed limits from 15 mph to 5 mph. The Department of Public Works said they already have slow zones, where the scooters slow down to only 5 mph. That includes Martin Luther King Drive, the Deer District, and the area around the Milwaukee Public Market.
The other side:
Lime responded to Thursday's hearing, writing in a statement to FOX6:
"We at Lime are grateful to the Department of Public Works and the Council for the thoughtful conversation that affirmed the value of this program to Milwaukee’s transportation network and laid out a path forward for us all to work together to improve safety for all road users."
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the Milwaukee Common Council's Public Safety Committee, Alderman Robert Bauman, Alderman Peter Burgelis, prosecutors, Mary Bryant, the Department of Public Works and Lime.