DENVER — Where is it legal to ride dockless scooters in Denver? That question is becoming increasingly more confusing as the city struggles with how to deal with the popular urban mobility option.
Sidewalks might be off-limits again if Denver Public Works get their way. The department made an ordinance change recommendation during Tuesday morning’s Denver City Council’s Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee meeting.
The recommendation to prohibit electric scooters on sidewalks is based on rider behavior observed and feedback received through Denver’s Dockless Mobility Pilot Permit Program, the department said in a news release.
If this change is approved, people on scooters would follow the same rules as people on bikes and electric bikes and ride in the street and bike lanes.
Currently, riders in Denver are allowed to use the sidewalk if a bike lane is not available and the rider limits their speed to under 6 mph — a change made more than a month after the scooters were first introduced. They are still not allowed on the 16th Street Mall.
The committees’ recommendation will go to the full council for consideration later this month.
More than 2,800 electric scooters and 500 dockless bikes are currently in use in the city, the department said.
