Mission & Message
SUMMARY
- Our mission and message.
- In 2017 Prof. Jim Sallis predicted the problems resulting from the competition for the use of sidewalks by new devices.
- Those problems have been made much worse by the proliferation of "dockless" motorized scooters for rent as they are scattered on sidewalks by the rental companies and their users.
- The site provides you with information to help you spread the word and get scooters off sidewalks.
Our Mission
To restore safety to the walkways of San Diego where pedestrians used to feel safe.
Our Message: GET SCOOTERS OFF SIDEWALKS
Our campaign has a clear and simple message:
If motorized scooters are placed on sidewalks they will be driven and parked on sidewalks. Driving motorized scooters on sidewalks endangers pedestrians and staging and parking motorized scooters on sidewalks creates obstacles and trip hazards for them. Therefore:
SCOOTERS MUST BE
PLACED IN THE STREET,
USED IN THE STREET AND
PARKED IN THE STREET.
NOW
NOT ON WALKWAYS
Are Sidewalks for Pedestrians?
Professor James Sallis, is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at University of California, San Diego and Professorial Fellow at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. His bio on the pedestrian advocacy group America Walks states that:
"(h)is primary research interests are promoting physical activity and providing evidence to guide policy and environmental strategies to improve physical activity, sedentary behavior, nutrition, and obesity. He is the author of over 600 scientific publications and is one of the world’s most cited authors. He is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. Dr. Sallis enjoys walking the beaches of San Diego and sharing their beauty with all who visit."
He is the author of articles predicting the threats that new technologies are creating for pedestrians. His 2017 article asks "Are Sidewalks for Pedestrians?". Increasingly the answer is "No."
Prof. Sallis's article was the first to alert me to the threat posed to pedestrian safety not just by motorized scooters but by a host of other individual personal transportation devices, e.g. hoverboards, motorized skateboards, uniballs, uniwheels, etc. not to mention remotely guided and potentially autonomous delivery services.
ASSOCIATED PAGES
We use this site to explain:
- The Threats The Scooter Rental Industry Creates:
- How they affect the safety of pedestrians - our main focus.
- How they affect the safety of their users.
- How property owners, businesses and employers are affected.
- The Myths Promulgated By Scooter Rental Companies:
- The Grand Myth: That using a rented motorized scooter decreases carbon emissions.
- The Other Myth: That rented scooters are an economic option for the First or Last Mile.
- More Myths of scooter rental companies to advance their interests.
- How the City of San Diego responded to the problems.
- An estimate of the cost of dealing with the issues created by the scooter rental industry in San Diego.
To become a Safe Walkways advocate please go to the Action page and to be kept informed, please let us know of your interest via the Contact Us box on this page.
