MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee leaders are considering tougher rules for electric scooter riders after a recent sidewalk crash left a man seriously injured downtown.
The Common Council’s Public Safety and Health Committee spent nearly two hours Thursday discussing scooter safety at City Hall. One proposal would raise the fine for riding an electric scooter on the sidewalk from $10 to $20 up to $100 to $200. The fine proposal moved forward, while city leaders continue weighing slow zones, enforcement measures and scooter company accountability.
Under Milwaukee rules, electric scooters are not supposed to be ridden on sidewalks. Riders are expected to use the street or bike lanes. But the recent crash has renewed questions about how to make those rules matter, especially in crowded downtown areas where pedestrians, restaurant patios, traffic, bike lanes and scooters all overlap.
Watch: Milwaukee leaders consider higher fines, slow zones after sidewalk scooter crash injures pedestrian
The discussion follows a June 16 crash near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and State Street. Prosecutors charged a 20-year-old with one count of second-degree reckless injury after investigators said he was riding a Lime scooter on the sidewalk when he struck a pedestrian.
City officials said scooters have become a popular transportation option in Milwaukee, with millions of rides in recent years. But downtown pedestrians said the safety concerns are real.
Marsha Rys, a downtown pedestrian, said the danger is especially concerning for older residents.
"It is an issue. We're elderly, so we're one of those ones susceptible to falling. So yeah, it's not good," Rys Said.
Rys said the problem goes beyond scooters and extends to whether streets feel safe enough for riders to stay off sidewalks in the first place.
"They need to repaint their lines. It's a good beginning and make it safer," Rys Said.
Reactions to the proposed fine increase were mixed among scooter riders and pedestrians.
Terrence Reed, a downtown pedestrian, supported higher fines if they help stop dangerous riding.
"Do it. Do it. I mean, if it'll stop people from making dangerous moves like that, then do it," Reed Said.
But Jesus Zak, a scooter rider, said the proposed fine goes too far.
"$200 sounds pretty excessive. It just sounds like you're just trying to like fork over money from people who are already just trying to like get public transportation in the city," Zack said.
Zak said some riders use sidewalks because they are trying to avoid traffic. He also said speed is part of what makes scooters a practical way to get around.
"I like how fast they go, especially when I need to get to work early in the morning," Zak said.
Daniel Welch, another scooter rider, said sidewalk riding creates real dangers for people on foot and argued scooters should follow the same rules as bicycles.
"There's injuries, people are walking. I mean, bicycle riders are contained in the streets for how fast they go, so why not? Why can't scooters just follow the same precedent?" Welch said.
The city is also looking at slow zones in crowded downtown areas, where scooters could automatically reduce speed to five or ten miles an hour. Welch pushed back on that idea, saying reduced speeds could undercut what makes scooters useful.
"You might as well walk at that point. Average walk speed is 5 miles an hour",Welch said.
The debate now centers on balance: keeping scooters available as a transportation option while making sure sidewalks feel safe for the people walking on them.
City leaders are expected to continue discussing slow zones, enforcement and whether scooter companies should face stronger accountability when rules are not followed.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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