Rise of scooters
September 16, 2019
SCHOLASTIC SCOOTING: Senior Grant McNiff rides an e-scooter to school in the morning. Many Grady students opt to use this mode of transportation as their way to and home from school.
Atlanta passed an ordinance at the start of 2019 to create a registration process for electric scooter and bike companies. The ordinance capped the number of devices per company at 2,000. The city also restricted the use of e-scooters to streets and encouraged helmet use.
In response to several casualties and serious injuries from e-scooter riders, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued two executive orders. The first order prohibited permits for new scooter companies, and the second order banned the use of scooters from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The mouth of the Eastside trail of the BeltLine, a public walkway through Midtown Atlanta, is a hot-spot for e-scooters. Grady sits across the street from this part of the BeltLine, creating an impact on this school’s community.
Senior Grant McNiff works at Busy’s Shaved Ice and Coffee across the street from Grady and the BeltLine. He gets off work at 9 p.m., just after the scooters are disabled.
“It’s a problem for me because I can’t ride them home from work,” McNiff said. “I have to walk home.”
Johan Hood, an employee of Mint Salon at the end of the BeltLine, enjoys riding scooters as a fun way to relieve stress.
“I have to worry too much about falling to worry about my problems,” Hood said.
Piedmont Park is also easily accessible from the Eastside trail. Senior Olivia Benedict rides e-scooters around Piedmont Park every Sunday with a friend as a tradition. However she does not ride on the streets because she fears for her safety.
“I feel like I would swerve and maybe get hit by a car or something, so, I try to avoid doing that at all costs,” says Benedict.