Electric scooters are IN!?

2021/02/05 at 7:00 am

The Whitsunday Regional Council gave Whitsunday Fun a six-month trial period to operate electric trikes on footpaths as councilors debate ways to monitor the emerging trend.

In this Whitsunday news, their application to the Whitsunday Regional Council consists of the opportunity to operate hired bikes and electric bikes and tricycles on council footpaths, cycleways, foreshores, and boardwalks between Cannonvale and Airlie Beach.

The trikes were one of the delicate topics that were raised at last week's council meeting.
After the informative meeting, the council proposed the following recommendations for their application. Here are some of the 30 conditions that were required to follow:

*Encourage safety of those involved in the activity, allowing council staff or contractors to inspect or service the business' facilities at any time
*Limit trike speed to 12km/h and maintain a clear corridor for pedestrians.
*Designate a no-go zone for the trikes in Coral Sea Marina (walking spot only through the lagoon precinct)
*Limit of 15 trikes on council-controlled land at any one time.

Division 1 Councillor Jan Clifford also suggested including limits in place, such as a trial period and limiting the number of trikes.
He also suggested a three-month trial period and extended it to a total of 6 months after it was noted that this quarter is usually a discreet time for tourists.

According to the Whitsunday Times, the council's community services director Julie Wright told councillors, applications for e-scooters are expected.

"With these guys and the two others currently operating in town and another one potentially coming in, I think we're going to have to look at, do we cap it at some stage," Cr Clifford said.
"My footpaths down there are not terribly wide, and I still don't have a shared zone through the lagoon, which would change the whole dynamic again as well.
"I think we have to control for the time being until we get a grip on it all."

Mayor Andrew Willcox said the safety concerns must be met and if people were injured, the operation could be shut down.

"We already have a challenge with kids on scooters and these electric scooters," he said.
"It's a growing issue, and we will have to revisit it as a policy generally to look at where we go in the next couple of months.
"We can't totally be the fun police, but we're going to have to manage it somehow.
"It's an emerging challenge and an emerging opportunity maybe."

Cr Brunker wanted to expand the limit to 15 trikes, so the business could operate as it was fully intending. This was to envision how it would work in the future.
However, Cr Willcox said there is considerable concern about making it "open slather".

"In a concentrated part of the area like Airlie Beach, we are going to have to come up with a policy like we are now to probably minimise the effect rather than cut it off," Cr Brunker said.
"It is going to get out of control, so we just need a basic policy."

The councillors unanimously voted to amend the approval to include the provision of a six-month trial period with a maximum of 15 tricycles.

If you want to learn more about this news, please check out this Whitsunday Times article.