Scooters
Commentary doesn’t hang much in Downtown H-Town, only when I go to Daikin Park or maybe to a luncheon event. That’s it. I may drive through Midtown on occasion. I drive into the East Downtown area a few times a month. Still, I’ve never seen anyone ride a scooter. That is why I was surprised to hear about this. I wonder if I am out of touch. See this from the Chron:
Houston may soon join a growing number of major U.S. cities that have banned electric scooters, citing increasing safety risks to pedestrians and riders.
A proposal to prohibit electric scooter use in downtown, Midtown, and East Downtown will be discussed this Thursday at the City Council Quality of Life Committee meeting. The measure would build upon a 2021 ordinance that already restricted companies from staging or renting scooters in public rights-of-way, including sidewalks and streets, and banned sidewalk riding in business districts.
The new proposal goes further, suggesting a full geographic ban in some of the city’s densest and most walkable neighborhoods.
The push comes amid mounting safety concerns from city officials, including Mayor John Whitmire, who has said that scooter use on sidewalks poses a threat to pedestrian safety. Council Member Julian Ramirez, who chairs the Quality of Life Committee, said that while the proposal originates from Whitmire’s administration, the city has also received complaints from downtown hotels, restaurants, businesses, and residents.
“There have been a number of instances where we have seen collisions downtown, and there has been three deaths” Ramirez said. “A lot of people who frequent restaurants and hotels and events downtown feel unsafe.”
Here is the entire Chron article on the proposed scooter ban: Houston could potentially ban electric scooters in Downtown Houston.
I really can’t put out a take on this because I have never encountered a scooter. I wonder if the scooter vendors have a lobbyist or City Hall insider helping them out.
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On Sunday, the Chron came out with their Best of the Best list. See the featured photo. Only a few of my favorites made the list like Saint Arnold Brewing, Shipley Do-Nuts, and PetSmart. That’s it.
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Hunter Biden is in the news again. Oh, brother. I don’t have anything to say about this loser.
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The Astros won last night. We have now played 100 games. That means we have 62 games remaining, 29 at Daikin Park, and 33 roadies. The Brewers have the best record in MLB. We are two games behind the Brewers with the sixth best record in MLB. At this point, no team in MLB is on pace to win 100 games this season. Oh, yeah, we are still a very dinged-up team.