West Hollywood resident Stephanie Harker is fed up with scooters and delivery robots in the City of West Hollywood. She sent an open letter to Mayor Sepi Shyne and several community members over the weekend asking that the city “Please, please, please…put the safety of residents FIRST and novelty businesses and unfettered, unenforced, illegal motorized vehicles off our streets and sidewalks…”
The email includes photos of delivery robots parked on busy sidewalks, videos of the robots blocking walkways and forcing pedestrians out of the way and a video where a pedestrian is run down by a moving scooter on Santa Monica Boulevard. The scooter did not stop for the red light. “This caused the victim broken bones, two surgeries and going on two years of pain…so far,” she writes. “Plus, no insurance covered the victim. The young person on this says it right… ‘You’re in our way!'”
The open letter is below:
Dear Mayor Shyne, et al.,
BAN SCOOTERS AND ROBOTS FROM OUR CITY
The delivery robots impede the public right-of-way, are hazardous to pedestrians, (particularly for disabled residents) and are a general nuisance for all. I have even witnessed one stalling out in a lane of traffic on Fountain Ave. Add this to the unmonitored, unenforced scooters on the sidewalks, and you are allowing accidents to occur and waiting for more to happen.
I am baffled by billion dollar companies riding roughshod over West Hollywood and dictating what happens in our city and NO ONE taking any responsibility for, or being accountable for, the problems.
A resident is fed up with scooters and delivery robots in @WeHoCity — https://t.co/ffxnyNjgQt pic.twitter.com/F5wp1hPoQP
— WEHO TIMES (@WEHO_TIMES) September 18, 2023
(California-based shared micro mobility company Bird – Silicon Valley’s fastest unicorn – achieved the $1B valuation status in less than a year.
Lime has raised $1.47B over 12 rounds. Lime’s latest funding round was a Loan for $105M on November 5, 2021. Lime’s valuation in May 2020 was $510M.)
The operators seem to be allowed to “store” the robots on sidewalks.
Please, please, please…put the safety of residents FIRST and novelty businesses and unfettered, unenforced, illegal motorized vehicles off our streets and sidewalks. We don’t allow bicycles on our sidewalks, WHY, oh WHY are the scooter riders allowed and NOT held responsible?
Stephanie Harker
Resident West Hollywood
The delivery robots can stay, but the scooter must go!!
I’ve always said “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it” Bicycles and skateboards on the sidewalk are bad enough Add robots and scooters to the mix and we have a big problem Laws need to be inforced
The pilot program for the E scooters has been going on for over two years now, and no improvements have been made, the laws haven’t been enforced, and the behavior of the riders hasn’t changed. It’s time to end this unsuccessful program and give us back our sidewalks! Have they made any appreciable difference or improvement in traffic patterns? No!. In fact, all they do is put pedestrians especially people living with disabilities and older adults, in danger! But, City Hall is only concerned with money that can be made, and not for the welfare of WeHoans. I doubt if… Read more »
Who’s the idiot chasing that poor robot who’s just trying to do its job.
Robots are dangerous I use a walker and they get in the way on the sidewalks. The scooters are worst.Sidewalks are meant for people walking not all this.
i haven’t used the robots because I feel if I have to outside to get it it’s not delivery. My neighbor did and his sandwich and smoothie upon delivery looked like a well tossed chopped salad. Now I read people are tipping them over for fun and the homeless are stealing food out of them. Next thing you know they’ll be used as porta potties.. I’ve seen tourists gaily zipping down the sidewalk on the scooters, “alarm” going off, earbuds firmly in place. Unless they’re going to zap them with an electric shock for bad behavior, it’s not going to… Read more »
This is an old problem now. Lime scooters now automatically shut down to 3mph the moment you enter Weho city limits. It’s fairly new I guess. So nobody is going to want to ride that through town anymore.
Those delivery robots are cute and fun to watch, I don’t see an issue there!
They are not robots. There is a manual operation behind the wheel it is just remote.
These scooters need to go in Weho. They are dangerous and people misuse them. The city council needs to finally deal with them.
That’s ALL I complained about?! Not the useless ambassadors that do nothing but take the money that could’ve been given to actual sheriff’s. Not the crime explosion? The rent hikes? The demolition of our iconic buildings? Shame on you!
The delivery robots don’t bother me a bit. The scooters are dangerous and need to be banned. The Idiots that ride them don’t obey traffic laws. My dog was almost run down by a scooter recently. Paris just banned them…let’s do the same.
It’s interesting that this article should be accompanied by a picture of the nightmare intersection of La Cienega & Holloway that includes Fountain & Santa Monica Blvd. where this city has approved the installation of a new car wash at the same site as the Chevron station, smack in the middle of this, one of the worst & most congested intersections in the city. My dog Zipper & I walk by there or nearby there nearly every single morning & it’s usually virtually impossible to safely cross the street in the crosswalks, which are always congested with traffic in all… Read more »
WeHo does restrict scooters, there are signs on sidewalks and the scooters saying not to ride them on sidewalks & the scooters even will slow down or stop working – sounding an alarm with direction not to ride on sidewalks.
I’ve never seen the robots interfere with people walking, the video shown the people are purposefully getting in it’s way & it doesn’t even run into them it goes around. They’re just doing their job.
The scooter riders are ALWAYS on sidewalks and obey no traffic laws. They’re dangerous. I agree about the food delivery. They’re sweet.
Bicycles, scooters, skateboarders, & electric bikes, NEVER OBEY ANY TRAFFIC LAWS…EVER. This entire city and state has turned into one big joke. The majority of people using food delivery robots get your lazy ass off the couch and pickup your own food.