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Knoxville City Council passes permanent scooter program, 7-2

The new scooter program will be more permanent than the existing pilot program that is in place now.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville City Council voted on the first reading for an ordinance that would establish a permanent scooter program in Knoxville, beyond the pilot program that exists now.

They approved it 7-2, and the program will need to pass on the second reading at the city council's next meeting before going into effect.

The council's vote would install a series of administrative regulations, based on feedback the city received on the pilot program. 

"There were pretty specific problems, particularly around scooters cluttering the sidewalk or people riding them on the sidewalk," said Carter Hall. 

Hall is in charge of the scooter program for the City of Knoxville.

Now, riders are not allowed to use the scooters on sidewalks. The ordinance, if approved, would add regulations on parking locations for the scooters, and geo-fencing that would allow operators to "apply specialized rules...to specific geographies." 

The permanent program would also create a "scooter corral" in parking spaces to hold the scooters, not on the sidewalk. The scooter companies would be required to move the scooters into the corrals every morning, but riders are not required to return them to the corrals. 

"That's something we might do in the future if we're still facing some problems with sidewalk organization," Hall said. 

The ordinance would also not allow scooter use from 11 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Sunday when there are football games at the University of Tennessee. 

"It's definitely a top priority to make sure that everything is accessible in Knoxville," Hall said. 

Molly King works in the Langley Building downtown. When the scooters first arrived in Knoxville, she said she had trouble getting around city streets. 

"I started seeing the scooters around town, laying in the middle of the sidewalks," King said. "If they're on the sidewalk, it does make it hard to get around." 

King said it's gotten better, and she's hopeful that will continue.

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