Title
An Ordinance to Add Sections 10:147 and to Amend Sections 10:1c, 10:90, 10:97, 10:146, and 10:149 of Chapter 126 (Traffic) of Title X of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor (Personal Mobility Vehicle) (ORD-21-27)
Memorandum
An amendment is proposed to the Code of the City of Ann Arbor to add new regulatory language concerning personal mobility vehicles to Title X, Chapter 126 Traffic. It is offered by the Transportation Commission in response to the arrival and operation of electric scooters (e-scooters) and other forms of new mobility within the community.
Summary: E-scooter companies first arrived in Ann Arbor in September 2018. At the time, it was unclear where and how these vehicles should be operated. In response to their arrival, the Transportation Commission formed a subcommittee to strategize on effective strategies to define their operation.
Highlights of the proposed ordinance include the following (note: the draft ordinance should be consulted for the full list of proposed changes):
• Personal Mobility vehicle definition (10:1c.(15)): The definition was purposely written broadly to capture different forms of mobility including but not limited to e-scooters, bicycles, e-bikes, and skateboards.
• Sidewalks (10:90): Allows personal mobility vehicles to be operated on the sidewalk
• Bicycle lanes and paths (10:146): Allows personal mobility vehicles to be operated in bike lanes and on bike paths
• Safety sidewalks, pedestrians and impoundment (10:147): This new section regulates the use of personal mobility vehicles in the following ways: personal mobility vehicles must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians; allows for prohibition of personal mobility vehicles through a Traffic Control Order; establishes that personal mobility vehicles operated on the sidewalk or crosswalk have the same rights and responsibilities as pedestrians; identifies parking requirements; identifies conditions by which personal mobility vehicles may be impounded, released, and sold; identifies safe operation parameters; establishes that personal mobility vehicles operated in the roadway have the same rights and duties as motorists; provides that City Council may designate locations and times at which personal mobility vehicles may not be operated.
• Skateboards (10:149): This section is proposed for deletion since the new definition of personal mobility vehicles is inclusive of skateboards.
The Transportation Commission recommended approval of the Ordinance as presented here on May 19, 2021.
Attachments: Ordinance to Amend Title X, Chapter 126 (Traffic) of the Code of the City Ann Arbor - Draft May 19, 2021 from Transportation Committee
May 19, 2021 Transportation Commission Minutes
Staff
Prepared by: Raymond Hess, Transportation Manager
Kayla Coleman, Systems Planning Analyst II
Reviewed by: John Reiser, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Craig Hupy, Public Services Area Administrator
Approved by: John Fournier, Assistant City Administrator
Body
(See Attached Ordinance)