E-Scooters Make Their Way to North Lawndale
A close-up of parked E-Scooters located on West Roosevelt Ave and South Homan Ave. Photo by Clariza Adao
On June 15th, Chicago introduced its residents to a new way to get around the city: E-Scooters. Recently, there has been a strong presence of these scooters, especially in the North Lawndale neighborhood.
E-Scooters parked near the 12 CTA Bus Stop (West Bound) Located on S. Roosevelt and W. Homan Ave. Photo by Clariza Adao
Like Divvy bikes, E-Scooters can be rented out by anyone with the respective vendor’s smart phone app. People can utilize these services on a need-basis, as long as they have the money for it. Vendors include Lyft and Uber.
There are mixed reviews about the E-Scooters. E-Scooters are still new to the city so it is inevitable for some Chicagoans to be unsure on how to use these scooters.
Latricia, a North Lawndale local who rode E-Scooters before, claims she has ridden E-Scooters in Wisconsin and Tennessee.
“I like all forms of transportation… I think [the] scooters are a great asset to the community.”
A North Lawndale local taking off on an E-Scooter. Photo by Clariza Adao
Jessica, born and raised in North Lawndale, expressed her view on the E-Scooters.
“I don’t know how I feel about them. I didn’t even ride a scooter when I was younger. Now that I am grown, I don’t want to ride a scooter to go anywhere,” Jessica said, later adding that she will not consider riding an E-Scooter any time soon.
“I always see them lying around at random places… two were just in the alley. How can you just leave them right there?,” she said.
Fallen E-Scooters people left behind after using. Photo by Clariza Adao
Dr. P.S. Sriraj, the Director of The Urban Transportation Center, says “as [E-Scooters] become more prevalent [over time], and more widely available over a larger area opposed to the limited pilot program right now.”
“[Safety] needs to be reinforced. You have to have a good education and awareness about the do’s and don’ts of operating a scooter. They get carried away by assuming I’ve ridden a bike before, it’s not going to be any different.”
The E-Scooter Pilot Program will end on October 15, 2019. More information regarding Chicago’s E-Scooter Pilot Program can be found here.